Sunrise Over Japari Park
by WiltheWizard
Summary: A soldier tasked with evacuating Japari Park comes into contact with Ceruleans, Friends and learns some new things about himself and Friendship.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

Japari Park. When the almost magical substance "Sandstar" started spewing out of a volcanic island off the coast of Japan, the whole world went crazy. The substance turned animals or remains of animals into almost-human versions of themselves, called Friends. Everything we knew about science was called into question. Researchers went to work to figure out the mysteries of Sandstar. Then, since humanity never changes, they turned it into a wildlife theme park in addition to a research center. It was the most popular vacation spot in the world. So yeah, I've heard of the place. I just never thought I'd be running a rescue mission there.

The Chinook helicopter hummed and shuddered around me. The three other members of my team were seated beside and across from me. Each was checking and re-checking our weapons and equipment. It was the same routine we had gone through in countless missions in the past. This time however, our enemy was very very different. When Sandstar contacted inorganic matter it interacted in a slightly different way. No one is sure why, but unlike Friends, contact with inorganic matter created aggressive organisms called Ceruleans. These creatures hunted down and attacked any form of life in their path. The first instances of Ceruleans were dealt with shortly after their emergence and the park reopened without much incident. However, when the Sandstar volcano erupted for a second time many many more Ceruleans appeared. The park was evacuated after the Ceruleans proved too formidable for conventional measures to contain. The Japanese had claimed the Japari archipelago soon after it had first formed, so they had jurisdiction in the area. The JSDF had managed to evacuate most of the island and they were currently fortifying and defending the beaches from any wandering Ceruleans. However, some of the park's staff including a park guide and several researchers had become stranded deep within the Cerulean infested zone. Among the researchers was an American scientist named Jason Lazar. Lazar was studying the effects of Sandstar on the remains of extinct animals. Apparently his research was of interest to the government, so the United States had stepped in and sent a team to escort the staff back to the safe zone. That's where we came in.

"Approaching the LZ," the pilot's voice crackled in my headset. "Prepare for drop in five mikes."

Captain Jackson, our commander, was seated across from me. He let the bolt on his weapon slide forward and lock into place, loading a round. He looked up at us and grinned. "Remember, these things can regenerate unless you hit the stone. If you have a clear shot on the stone, take it. Otherwise, aim for the eye and hope it punches through."

I hefted the weapon in my hands. It was heavier than the one I normally used. Command had outfitted us with a larger caliber rifle in order to give us a better chance at damaging the stone within the Ceruleans.

"As you know, we'll be dropping about 7 klicks from the Lodge where the civilians are holding up." Jackson continued. "You've got one hour to meet up at rally point Hound after we drop. Don't engage unless you need too. And boys, if you encounter a purple or black Cerulean, run like hell. Understood?"

"Hooah." We replied. We stood and lined up, facing the rear of the helicopter. Soon, the hatch would open, the light above us would turn green and we would step out into the wide blue sky. I felt the familiar knot in my stomach settle into place. No matter how many times I jumped, I still got nervous before that first step.

Captain Jackson glanced back at me over his shoulder with a smirk. "You good, Knight? You look a little green."

"Fine, sir." I managed a smile that probably looked more like a grimace. "Just a little hungry."

I saw Jackson's shoulders shake slightly as he chuckled. The metal floor beneath my feet shuddered as the hatch opened and cool air rushed in. Far below us, I could see a green forest that stretched in all directions. Along the horizon I could see a the thin line of blue that was the ocean. I took a deep breath to steady myself. I nearly choked on that breath when the helicopter lurched sickeningly to the right. The thick webbing across the ceiling that the four of us gripped was the only thing that kept us on our feet.

"What the hell was that?" Jackson growled into the radio. It buzzed as the pilots switched into our channel.

"A giant Ceru-shit! Level us out!" The pilot's voice cracked as he shouted to his co-pilot. "There's a giant black one of those things. It's flinging pieces of itself at us. Hold on back there, it's gonna get bumpy."

My grip somehow tightened even more on the webbing as the craft lurched again, this time in the other direction. I caught a glimpse of what the pilot was talking about. An enormous black mass was standing among the trees. It was supported by four oddly bent legs that looked too slender to support its mass. Its single unblinking eye was fixated on us. One of its legs twisted almost entirely around, fast enough to blur. A chunk of its gelatinous mass came hurtling through the air toward us.

"Shit." It was all I was able to say before the missile struck the underside of the helicopter. The next few moments became a series of images, flailing limbs, tangled cords and screaming. One of us was definitely screaming, and I remember hoping it wasn't me. And then I was outside. The smoking remains of the helicopter was tumbling away from me and I was falling. My static line chute was pulled as I got further away from the helicopter, but I was upside down. I saw a brief glimpse of the green forest below before I was engulfed by cable and fabric.

I don't know what I hit first, but it hurt. Pain like lightning spread out from my right side. More impacts throughout my body, slapping and ripping through the fabric of my chute. The canopy, I thought. It was gradually slowing me down. Then through a rip in the chute I saw a thick trunk rush up to meet me. Then felt nothing but the bliss of unconsciousness.

My first thought upon returning to the waking world was my head hurt. A lot. Then the memories of the crash came rushing back. I jolted upright and pulled the tattered remains of the parachute off me. Moving so quickly was a mistake. I hunched over to vomit the contents of my stomach onto the dirt. Something wet trickled down my right ear. I reached up to find a small gash across my scalp. It was then I noticed my helmet was gone. A quick glance around located it, a huge crack having split it in two. If I had hit hard enough to do that to my bulletproof helmet, I was honestly surprised I had woken up at all. I had a concussion for sure though. I grimaced and tried to salvage my radio equipment from the ruined helmet but had no such luck. It had been smashed on the impact and was completely inoperable. I took a deep breath and glanced up at the sky. The thick tree boughs obscured much of it, but from the light level I could tell I had been out for several hours. It would be dark soon and I had no idea where I had landed.

"Well shit." I said aloud to the trees. They didn't respond. Nearby I was able to locate my rifle. Its sling must have come undone near the end of my fall so it hadn't landed far away. The weapon had a few new scratches in the finish, but otherwise seemed undamaged. A smiled played on my lips. I was still concussed and lost in a forest deep within hostile territory but at least I had my gun. Small victories, I guess.

I looked up at the sky again, searching for a sign of the Sandstar volcano. The enormous crystals that rest on its summit would give me a landmark to try to figure out where I had landed. From there I could determine the direction of the Lodge where the civilians were. I still had a job to do. As far as I knew, I was the only one still around to finish that job. A cold spear of ice spiked through my chest as the thought crossed my mind. I forced those feelings down so I could bury them. If that was the case, there would be time for mourning later.

A twig snapped behind me.

I spun, rifle coming up to rest against my left cheek as I gazed down the sight. The crosshair settled on..a girl. That threw me a little and I blinked in confusion. The girl was high school aged if I had to take a guess. She wore a white buttoned up shirt with a small blue bow tied around her neck, a black skirt and what looked like brown arm warmers. Her brown hair fell to her shoulders. In her left hand she held a wooden staff that was nearly as tall as she was. It was topped by what looked like a large paw, complete with pads and claws. In her left hand she had the stick she had snapped. She let the two pieces fall to the ground and glared at me. It dawned on me she had broken the stick in order to get my attention and I wondered just how long she had been there.

"Who...are you?" I asked. My Japanese wasn't the greatest. I could understood the language much better than I could speak it, but I was pretty sure I could handle simple statements.

"Brown Bear." She replied. "What are you doing here, Human?" It was then I realized that what I had thought was a part of her hairstyle was not actually hair. Two round furry ears sat on top of her head, twitching slightly to follow the forest sounds around us. She was a Friend. I'd never actually seen one in person. Her glare intensified. "I asked you a question."

"I could ask you the same thing." I told her. We had been briefed that all the Friends had been moved to other parts of the island during the evacuation. I lowered my rifle and rested it on the pouches across my chest. "I'm Staff Sergeant Knight. I'm on my way to the Lodge to move some people out to safety." I said my rank in English, unsure of the equivalent terms or even if the Friend understood what a rank was. "Which way is the lodge?"

Brown Bear raised an eyebrow at me. "Tch. You don't even know where it is." She picked up her staff and rested it on one shoulder. "I'm going to take you to the beach. Then you can leave." She walked over to me and I saw she only came up to my shoulder level. She started to push me in one direction.

"What are you doing?" I stepped back from her. "I need to get to the Lodge. I have a job to do."

She frowned at me. "No." She pointed at my head, where the blood had dried. "You'll get hurt again. Come with me." I turned away from her and started off into the trees. "Hey!" I heard her yell behind me. In a moment she had caught up to me and was walking beside me.

"If the beach is that way," I pointed behind us in the direction she had tried to lead me. "Then the lodge is in this direction." I pointed in front of me. "Thanks for the tip." She glared at me.

"It too dangerous, you should leave." She told me. The fact that what looked like a young girl had just told me it was too dangerous for me caused a small smile to cross my lips. Bear's brow furrowed. "What's so funny?"

I opened my mouth to reply and that was when we heard the screaming.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

I started running toward the sound, which sent a wave of vertigo through my head. I gritted my teeth and kept moving. Brown Bear came up beside me, easily keeping pace with me. The two of us emerged from the brush to find ourselves at the top of a shallow canyon within the forest. The scream had come from below us, a girl was running through the undergrowth. Her outfit was similar to Brown Bear's, a button up shirt with a dark blue bow at her neck. She was wearing a long-sleeved undershirt that was covered in a camouflage pattern of brown, white and tan. She wore leggings with the same pattern. Her hair was mostly a sandy brown but changed to black at the tips. Two large round ears sat on the top of her head and I could see a fluffy tail behind her. Another Friend, then. She glanced back over her shoulder and screamed again as her pursuer came into a view. A dark green Cerulean crawled over a fallen log and its single eye locked on the girl. It reminded me of an eel as it undulated along the forest floor, but it had the pincers of a giant beetle.

"We have to help her." Brown Bear tightened her grip on her staff. I raised my rifle to my cheek and settled the crosshairs onto the Cerulean's stone as it rushed toward the girl. I let the air out of my lungs slowly, steadying myself for the shot...but I paused. The Cerulean had almost reached the girl now and she screamed again. I lowered my rifle and started to turn away.

"What are you doing?!" Brown Bear grabbed my arm.

"If I shoot it, the sound will attract more of them." I shrugged out of her grip.

"So you're going to leave her to die?" Bear snarled at me.

"To help her would put my mission at risk. I can't do that." I started to turn away again. "She's not even human."

Bear glared at me for a long moment. Then she spun her staff in her hand and leapt down the rocky side of the canyon. A thought occurred to me, seeing how the Friends fought the Cerulean might provide some useful information. I knelt down beside one of the trees on the top of the valley wall.

The Cerulean lunged at Bear as she charged it. She ducked and slid underneath the pincers as they clacked together. Her staff came up and slashed across the Cerulean's eye. It shrieked, a shrill piercing sound. Bear rolled to her feet beside the Friend the Cerulean had been chasing. I could see Bear say something to the girl, who nodded. Bear held her staff at the ready and I saw her eyes begin to glow. Bits of incandescent light floated upwards from her eyes, like ashes from a fire. The Cerulean lunged again and Bear dodged to the left, drawing the Cerulean away from the other Friend. The bear's paw on the end of her staff began to glow with the same light as her eyes. Bear swung in a wide arc, the paw connecting with the Cerulean's right pincer and ripping it clean off. The Cerulean reeled and Bear pressed her attack. Using her staff like a pole-vault, she launched herself over the Cerulean. Her staff began to glow once more and she brought the paw down hard on the Cerulean's stone. It shrieked for just a moment and then burst into dozens of cubes that quickly melted into sludge. Brown Bear stood in the puddle of her enemy, breathing heavily. The glowing light in her eyes faded and she smiled at the other Friend. Having seen what I wanted to see, I stood and started making my way through the bush once more. It wasn't long before I heard movement behind me. I turned to find Brown Bear. The other Friend was clinging to her side. Bear's gaze was not kind.

"What is the big idea?" She growled at me.

"Is that a Friend?" The other girl asked her quietly, looking at me with big eyes.

"No." Bear told her. "He's not a Friend. He wanted to leave you to the Cerulean." A look of hurt crossed over the other girl's face as she looked at me. I felt a pang of guilt in my chest. I did my best to ignore it.

"I told you," I said to Bear, "I have a mission to finish. I was not going to risk that mission to save an...animal."

Bear's dark eyes glowered. "You should leave."

"Not gonna happen."

"What if I make you leave?" The glowing light started in Bear's eyes again. My rifle snapped up, the crosshair between those glowing eyes. She blinked and stepped back.

"Do you know what this is?" I asked the Friends.

"A weapon." Bear said, the glowing fading from her eyes.

"Right. It will kill you if I think you are a threat. Understood?"

Bear nodded, slowly. I lowered my rifle and started away from them. I let out the breath I hadn't realized I was holding in. I heard a footstep behind me and my rifle once again pressed against my cheek. Bear stood with her hands held up, showing me they were empty.

"What?" I growled at her.

"I'm not going to stop you, but I am going with you."

I blinked and lowered the muzzle of my rifle, but kept it at the ready. "Why?"

"I don't trust you." She stated. "I'm going to make sure no Friends get hurt because of you."

I stared at her for a moment. Moving as a group would probably attract more attention from the Ceruleans. But how would I stop them from following me? Shooting them would cause too much commotion. Tie them up with the restraints I carried? That would leave them as easy prey for the Ceruleans. They might just be animals, but I wasn't sure I could do that to them. I sighed. I didn't have time for this.

"Suit yourself." I said with a shrug. "But keep up." I started off into the forest again. The sounds of the two Friends following me started a moment later. The thick undergrowth made progress slow and the two Friends made no effort to help clear the way. They kept their distance from me, but they were still close enough for me to hear their words as they spoke in low voices.

"I don't like him." The girl Bear had rescued said.

"Humans are strange." Bear told her. "Hey, what's your name? I'm Brown Bear."

"African Wild Dog." She replied. "You're really strong, Bear. I want to learn how to fight like you do."

"Maybe I'll be able to teach you one day." I could hear a smile in her voice.

The forest opened into a small clearing. I could see what looked like a game trail on the other side that lead off into the brush. A glimpse of the crystals on top of the Sandstar volcano could be seen above the canopy. I rested my rifle in the crook of my elbow and used my free hand to pull one of my canteens from my pack. The water was thankfully still cold and soothed the back of my throat. As I drank I could see Wild Dog watching me from the corner of my eye. I looked at her and saw she was staring at the canteen in my hand. I hesitated for just a moment and held it out to her. She shot a look at Brown Bear before taking the canteen and downing a big gulp. She handed the canteen back to me and I glanced at Bear. She was watching the exchange impassively. I held the canteen out to her then, but was given only a glare in response. I shrugged and stowed the canteen in my pack again.

"That path leads to the Lodge." Bear said suddenly and pointed to the game trail. I raised an eyebrow.

"You're suddenly so helpful..." I commented.

"I want you gone as soon as possible." Bear told me.

I didn't bother to respond and crossed the clearing to the trail. Underneath the trees once more, my eyes had to adjust to the little light that filtered through the branches. It would be night soon and I needed to hurry. Thankfully, following the trail made progress much easier. Still, soon the shadows grew longer and I stumbled a few times as the ground became increasingly difficult to see.

"There!" Wild Dog said from just behind me, making me jump.

"What?" I looked where she was pointing, but just saw a trunk.

"You don't see it?" She tilted her head to the side. "You can't see in the dark, can you? There's a ladder." Now that she said it I could see the faint outline of a rope ladder on the tree. It swayed gently back and forth. Craning my neck to look upward, I saw the floor of an enormous treehouse above.

"That's the Lodge." Wild Dog told me. "One section of it anyway."

"Dog." Brown Bear's voice was hushed and intense. "Get up the ladder." She held out her hand and there was brief flash of light that blinded me for a moment. When my vision returned I saw that her paw-headed staff had appeared in her hands. She looked at me. "I smell Ceruleans."

At her words the forest around us erupted into howling.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

The sound came from every direction at once. In the dim light remaining, I could see movement in the brush around us. My night vision goggles had been smashed along with my helmet, so I had to make do with the optic mounted on my rifle. Through its scope, the underbrush was bathed in a soft green light that provided some clarity. I was able to see something with four legs rush passed, and then another. And then another. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as the familiar rush of adrenaline surged through my body. I took a deep breath to steady myself...but the attack never came. The Ceruleans circled us, always keeping just within the brush which prevented me from getting a clear shot. Something knocked into my shoulder. Brown Bear had started climbing the ladder, Wild Dog was a dark spot about halfway up the trunk. Bear tapped my shoulder with her foot again.

"Move it." She hissed at me. Without another word she continued her ascent, leaving me standing there with the circling Ceruleans. I let my rifle hang by its sling at my side so I could use both hands to follow her up the ladder. When I was three quarters of the way up, the ladder jerked to the side violently. I gritted my teeth and hung on as the ladder lurched from side to side. Below me I could hear something snarl and then the ladder began to slow. When it had reached a manageable level, I continued my climb. At the top I found a trap door set into the floor of the massive tree house I had seen from the forest floor. The door was open and Wild Dog's face peered down at me. She stuck out her hand to me as I got close, but I ignored it and pulled myself inside. The trap door closed behind me with a resounding thud. Bear, presumably had closed it. The room I found myself was pitch black. I could hear the breathing of the two Friends, but nothing beyond that. I flicked on the flashlight mounted on the underside of my rifle. Its small cone of illumination showed me that we were in some kind of theatre. A raised stage dominated one wall and around it lay a scattering of overturned round tables and chairs. On one wall an open set of double doors led off into a darkened hallway. I noticed that there were windows along the walls, but the heavy curtains had been drawn closed on each one. I took a step toward one of the overturned tables and someone behind it leapt at me. I didn't have enough time to line up a shot with my rifle, but the weapon was caught between my assailant and me. The impact pressed the side of the rifle into my chest and knocked me off my feet. I hit the wooden floor hard and my attacker landed on top of me. The flashlight was still on and from its flickering light I could see the thing on top of me was...a girl? She blinked down at me, head tilted slightly to the side.

"You're not a Cerulean…" She said, seemingly to herself. She hopped off of me and I scrambled to my feet. Standing, I was able to get a better look at my attacker. She wore a white blouse and a skirt with a pattern of black spots on an orange background. She had leggings and a bow-tie, both with the same pattern as her skirt. Her orange hair fell to her shoulders with a dark "M' like pattern on her bangs. However, her most distinguishing feature was a pair of cat-like ears the same color as her hair that added nearly a foot to her height.

"Hey, a Friend!" Wild Dog ran over to the new girl. "I'm African Wild Dog!"

The girl with the spots smiled warmly. "I'm Serval! I thought you guys were more of those nasty Ceruleans." She turned to me. "Sorry about jumping on you."

"Serval!" Another feminine voice echoed from across the room. "What's going on?"

Serval cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, making me jump. "Ms. Guide! Over here! I found some Friends!"

Across the room I saw a pale blue light suddenly flick on, illuminating a small area. The light source began heading toward us. As it got closer I could see it was actually a small robot of some sort. It resembled a round bipedal rabbit, the tips of its ears casting the light we had seen. It probably came up to about my knees. Beside it walked a young woman. She wore a white khaki jacket and matching shorts, with blue camouflage cuffs on both her sleeves and pant legs. On her belt was a fanny pack in the same pattern. In the light from the robot, her hair looked pale green. It was pulled back into a tail behind her, but several stands had come loose and hung across her face. She wore a white safari pith helmet, which looked to be made of a soft fabric rather than anything hard. Two feathers were stuck into the hat's band. A red one on her left and a blue one on her right. Her blue eyes gazed at us from behind a pair of glasses and I could see dark bags under her eyes. She blinked at me and I saw her brow furrow in confusion. She opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off when the robot began to emit high, shrill noise. The light coming from its ears turned red and it ran up to stand by my feet.

"Unacceptable!" It shrieked at me. "No weapons are allowed on Japari Park grounds! Please find the nearest Park staff member to be escorted off the premises." The shrill alarm continued and I briefly considered shooting the damn thing.

"Lucky." The woman spoke then and the robot's alarm paused briefly as it turned to look at her. "The park is in a state of emergency. I hereby authorize this man to carry his weapons." She sounded almost like a mother explaining something to her child.

"Understood, Park Guide Mirai." The robot's light returned to it previous blue and it went back to stand beside the woman.

Mirai. With a jolt I recognized the name from my pre-mission briefing. She was the park guide who had refused to leave the park when the evacuation was called. She was supposed to be with the group my team was to escort into the safe zone.

"Ma'am." I took a half-step toward her. She eyed me warily. "I'm Staff Sergeant Knight, I was sent here to get you to safety."

"Americans? Why would they send you?" She said in barely accented English. There was no disdain or anger in her voice, only confusion.

I shrugged. "I don't ask those kinds of questions, Ma'am. I just do what I'm told." I glanced around the room. The tables and chairs cast long shadows from the robot's light. "Are the others here with you? The scientists?"

Mirai shook her head. "We got separated. It's just Serval and me here." She bent down and patted the robot on the head. "And Lucky Beast."

Serval glanced back and forth between Mirai and I. "What are you two saying?!" She asked, in Japanese. "Those words sound weird!" I noticed Wild Dog and Brown Bear had moved to stand beside her instead of me.

"Sorry, Serval." Mirai smiled at her warmly. "That was another language." She gestured at me, "This soldier is American, like that family we met last month that were really loud."

Serval's ears drooped slightly and I saw her glance worriedly at my rifle. "Soldier? Uh, like I said I'm sorry for tackling you earlier…"

A loud thump echoed in the room from below us. And then another. And another.

"Dammit." I cursed under my breath.

"What is that?" Mirai asked me in a hushed voice.

"We fled up here from a pack of Ceruleans." Another thump, this time I felt the floor shudder from the impact. "I guess they followed."

Mirai's eyes went wide and she scooped up the robot into her arms. I grabbed one of the overturned tables and pulled it toward another one, making a makeshift barricade. Unfortunately, I didn't notice my new fortifications was right next to a window until it was too late.

The glass shattered as the Cerulean came hurtling through it. The beast was about the size of a wolf and had the body shape of one, but its head resembled that of a crocodile's. A single, unblinking eye rested in the center of its purple head. It slammed into me, knocking me to the floor for the second time that night. My rifle was pinned underneath one of its paws and its jaws lunged for my throat. My free hand curled into a fist and slammed into its skull. The Ceruleans flesh felt like punching gelatin at first, but it got solid once more force was applied. The creature shook its head and I punched it again. It roared in my face, spittle sticking to my cheek. Oddly, its breath was room temperature. Dimly, I heard more breaking glass and shouts from the Friends. I pulled my combat knife from its sheath on my thigh and stabbed upward into the Cerulean's body again and again. Finally, I hit something solid and the Cerulean yelped like a dog. It burst into dozens of violet cubes that quickly started to dissolve. I got to my feet and paused for just a moment to take in the scene around me.

Serval and Wild Dog stood on either side of Mirai. Their eyes were wide and their hands shook, but their eyes glowed with incandescent light. Both stood ready to pounce on any Cerulean that got close. Mirai held the robot close to her chest, talking to the Friends beside her. I couldn't hear what she said, but I saw both the Friends smile weakly and some of the tension left their faces. Brown Bear stood in the center of the room, facing down several Ceruleans like the one that had pounced on me. She was holding them off with strong, two-handed strikes with her paw-headed staff. Her eyes and the paw glowed with the same light as the last time she had fought.

I rested my rifle on the barricade I had constructed and sighted the reticle on the Ceruleans. I took a single, steadying breath...and paused.

"Bear!" I shouted. "Get down!"

She shot me a confused look for just a moment. Then her eyes widened in recognition and she dropped to the ground. I pulled the trigger.

The rifle kicked against my shoulder and for a brief instant the entire room was illuminated. The retort drowned out any other sound. The rifle was a larger caliber than what I was used to and my first shot went high and to the left, carving a chunk out of the Cerulean's shoulder. It howled in pain and whirled to face me. I fired again. This time my aim was true and the bullet shattered the stone stuck into the Cerulean's back, causing it to burst into cubes. I lined up the next target and fired again. This time it only took one shot to hit the stone. By now the others had realized where the danger was coming from and charged towards me. The rifle jerked painfully against my shoulder as I fired again and again. More Ceruleans leapt into the room through the shattered windows and joined the fray. I fell into a familiar rhythm. Aim, breathe, fire. Aim, breathe, fire. Aim, breathe, fire. Then, my rifle clicked instead of jerking with recoil. The magazine was empty. One hand reached into a pouch on my chest to pull out a fresh mag while the other flicked my rifle, sending the spent magazine flying across the room. The entire reload took less than a second, but in that time a Cerulean had closed the distance and leapt at me. A glowing bear paw met it in mid-air. It had time for a single pained yelp before it burst into cubes. I locked eyes with Brown Bear for a split second and nodded my thanks. And then it was back to aim, breathe, fire. It felt like hour but the entire fight was over in less than a minute. I scanned the room, looking for more targets but everything was still. A thin puddle of Cerulean goop coated the floor. I realized I was breathing heavily.

"Everyone alright?" I called out, loading a fresh magazine into my rifle.

"No!" Serval replied. She was pressing her ears flat to the top of her head. "THAT WAS REALLY LOUD! It hurt!" She shouted at me.

"You'll live." I told her, but I felt the corner of my mouth tug slightly upward.

"We should leave." Mirai said calmly. "There might be more coming." She looked up at me. "There's another room that we've fortified. We can talk there." Still holding the robot to her chest, she headed off down the dark hallway out of the room. The Friends shot me a glance before they followed her. I took a long look at the lavender puddle on the floor that was the remains of my enemy. Then I hurried after them down the darkening hallway.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

Mirai led us to a door marked "Staff Only". Several tables and chairs had been overturned and piled up against the door we entered through. We had to squeeze through a small hole in the barricade between two tables in order to get into the room properly. The girls had a much easier time getting through than I did, my pack and the webbing on my vest getting caught twice. The room inside was illuminated by several battery powered lanterns that rested on the two tables that remained upright. The room was a break room for staff at one point, judging from the refrigerator and microwave that rested against the far wall. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw the room had no windows.

"Serval and I have spent a couple nights here already." Mirai said to me. "The Ceruleans won't be able to get in." She took a seat at one of the tables, placing the robot beside her. She propped her elbow up on the table and rested her chin in her hand. I stared at her for a moment. Seeing such a casual gesture after a battle seemed a little odd to me. She glanced up at me. "The kind of Ceruleans you just fought are much more active at night, so you should probably stay here until dawn." She smiled at me, but her eyes looked tired. "Take a seat."

I hesitated for just a moment before sitting down across from her, placing my rifle on the table in front of me. I made sure my seat had a view of the doorway. Brown Bear watched me for a moment before going to sit down at the other table. Wild Dog moved to join her and Serval shot a confused glance at Mirai. She shrugged and Serval sat at the table with the other Friends.

"Alright," I said to Mirai as I reached into my pack for my canteen. "If we're gonna be here for a while, why don't you tell me exactly what happened here?"

Mirai tapped a finger against the table. "Where to begin?" She asked with a sad smile. "It was two days after the Sandstar Volcano erupted. Serval and I were about to lead a guided tour of the Savannah area. Our bus turned around suddenly and brought us back here. The Lucky Beast driving us went into Alert mode, that's when he goes all red, which upset the guests a little. We assured them that everything was fine, the bus probably needed repairs or something. However when we got back to the Lodge, Professor Kako and Dr. Lazar were here to meet us." I recognized the names from my mission briefing. The Professor was the head of research at Japari Park and was Lazar's direct supervisor. Mirai continued, "They told us that Ceruleans had been seen in the park." She glanced at my canteen and I handed it to her. "Thanks." She took a big gulp and handed it back to me. "They came to us since Serval and I had taken care of the last Cerulean outbreak a couple years ago. But this time things were different. Before, the Ceruleans had a Queen. She could take on a humanoid appearance and she was smarter than the others. She focused them and gave them a goal. And when Serval and I defeated her, the other Ceruleans lost all direction and were easy to take care of."

"So is there a Queen out there somewhere?" I asked. If these things had a leader, it would be valuable intel.

Mirai shook her head. "I don't think so. Not this time. Before, the Ceruleans had their Queen to shape them from their creation and to direct them. I think part of her held them back from their full capabilities too. But this time the Ceruleans are created without that influence. They're rampaging at their full potential now and that took us by surprise." She shuddered and rubbed her shoulder, feeling a chill I did not. "We were able to evacuate all the guests from the Lodge, but other places in the park were not so lucky. We heard that one of the restaurants in the mountains, the Japari Café had been attacked by a large number of Ceruleans. People were hurt and Friends were...gone." She looked over at Serval, who was talking to Wild Dog about something. The two girls giggled and Mirai smiled at them. However, once again the smile did not reach her eyes.

"Why didn't you evacuate with the guests?" I asked her. "The order was for everybody, even the park staff."

Mirai didn't say anything first, just blinked at me. "I was here when the park opened. I was there when Serval and many others first became Friends. I fought to keep everyone safe during the first outbreak of Ceruleans and I am going to keep them safe from this one. They're my family. You wouldn't leave your family behind, would you?"

"No, I wouldn't." I glanced at the other table and made eye contact with Bear. Her eyes narrowed at me and I tore my gaze away from her. "Is that truly how you think of them though?" I asked Mirai. "Your family?"

"Yes." She said immediately.

"They're animals." Something howled faintly in the distance and I tensed, my hand resting on my rifle's grip.

"Relax, Mr. Soldier." Mirai said, laughing. "That's just a loon. It's a bird." The tension slowly left my shoulders. Mirai giggled again and I heard her sentiment echoed from the table of Friends. I noticed that when Mirai smiled in genuine amusement, it lit up her face. "They used to be animals," She continued after a moment. "Now they're much more than that."

I shrugged. "If you say so. So what happened to the scientists then?"

Mirai's smile vanished. "Professor Kako told us that she and Dr. Lazar had detected a massive spike of airborne Sandstar that they called Sandstar Rho. They suspected it may be empowering the Ceruleans as they fed on it. There's a small control station near the top of the Sandstar volcano. Professor Kako wanted to use that station to close the vent over the volcano to cut off the supply and hopefully weaken the Ceruleans. Serval and I insisted on going with them, so we could keep them safe."

"I'm guessing things didn't go as planned."

"No." Mirai shook her head. "Not long after we left the Lodge we were ambushed by two large Ceruleans. It was a type we hadn't seen before, they looked similar to bears but much larger. They were too strong for just the two of us to fight. Serval and I got separated from the others with one of the Ceruleans chasing after us. We were able to get away by hiding in a tree until it lost interest. I was so thankful that thing didn't know how to climb. Afterward we tried to find the others, but there was no sign of them. It was getting late so we came back to the Lodge. We were out looking for any remaining supplies here when Serval heard the three of you climbing into the theatre." She shrugged. "You know the rest."

I thought for a moment about how to ask my next question. I settled for bluntly. "So do you think there's any chance they're still alive?"

She flinched at the question. "Yes. Professor Kako is resourceful. I believe she got away from that Cerulean." She paused. "I have too." She added quietly.

"If they did, where would they be?"

Mirai thought for a second. "The control station. The professor was very determined to close that vent."

"How far away is this control station?"

"A day and a half walk."

"Damn. It's never easy, is it?" I said, more to myself than Mirai. I drummed my fingers on the table as I thought. "Ma'am, I'm going to need you to make a decision." Mirai raised an eyebrow at me and I continued. "My mission to get all of the staff out of this park. That means getting to that control station to find the Doctor and Professor. You're my best shot at finding that place quickly, but I won't force you to go with me. If you want I will take you to the safe zone first. What do you want to do?"

Mirai blinked. "Sergeant. Didn't I just tell you I'm not going to leave my family behind? Serval and I already planned to go up the mountain once the sun comes up." There was a fire burning in Mirai's eyes and the sight of it brought a smile to my face.

"Sounds good. Are they gonna be able to make the trip?" I jerked my head toward the Friend's table. "They look like teenagers."

Mirai laughed and once again it lit up her face. "Serval!" She called to the Friend.

"Yes?" The girl's large ears perked up at her name.

"Could you move that over to the door?" She pointed at the refrigerator. "I'd feel a little safer if it was over there."

"Sure thing, Ms. Guide!" Serval jumped up from her seat and rushed over to the refrigerator. She reached down and lifted the entire thing with as much effort as I would use to lift a cardboard box. She carried it over to the barricade by the door and used it to plug up the hole we had entered through. I felt the floor shake slightly as she set it down with a thud. She turned to Mirai. "Is this okay?"

"Perfect!" Mirai told her. "Thank you, Serval." The Friend returned to her seat. I reached up to make sure my jaw wasn't dragging on the ground. Mirai's eyes twinkled in amusement. "Don't underestimate the Friends, Sergeant. They'll always end up surprising you." She yawned then, stretching her arms up above her head. She stood up from her seat, picking up the robot beside her. "I'm going to get some sleep. You should too, soldier. We have a long walk tomorrow." She walked to one side of the room were several table cloths had been piled up. "Serval, I'm going to bed. Could you turn off a couple of the lanterns?"

"Okay!" Serval replied and yawned as well. "I'm pretty sleepy too. Good night!" She stood and went to lie down beside Mirai.

I stood as well and turned off the remaining lanterns at my table. Only one remained lit on the table where Bear and Wild Dog sat. I made my way to the far corner of the room, where I could lay down and still be able to see the entrance. It was just bare tile floor, but I'd slept on worse. I took off my pack and placed it onto the floor to use as a makeshift pillow. It wasn't until my head rested on that I realized just how tired I was. I closed my eyes and waited for sleep to overtake me. I could hear Brown Bear and Wild Dog talking in low voices as I drifted into unconsciousness.

"Are you sure the Ceruleans can't get us in here?" Wild Dog was saying.

"I'm sure." Bear told her. "You heard what Ms. Guide said. And besides, even if they do get in I'll be here to protect you." I could hear the smile in her voice.

"Yeah that's true." Wild Dog said. "Do..do you mind if I sleep next to you? I'd feel a lot safer that way."

"I don't mind at all." Bear told her.

If they said any more, I did not hear it. That night I did not dream and for that I am thankful.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:**

A soft beeping caused my eyes to snap open. The room was dark and I had no idea how much time had passed, but it did not feel like I had been asleep for very long. I sat up slowly and lifted the familiar weight of my rifle into my lap. A lantern flicked on across the room and I realized the beeping was coming from the rabbit-like robot. Mirai stood and stretched her arms up over her head. Her hat rested on the floor next to her and I could see several more strands of her hair had come loose while she slept. She tapped the robot on its ear tips and the beeping ceased.

"Serval, it's time to get up." Mirai said to the pile of orange on the floor beside her. "We have to get going."

"Ughhh." Serval groaned, covering her eyes with her arm. "Can we have breakfast first?"

"Serval, you ate all the Japari buns we had yesterday." Mirai told her. Serval immediately sat bolt upright.

"We need to leave immediately." She said and Mirai chuckled softly.

"Okay, but first we should wake up the others." Mirai picked up her hat and placed it on her head. "Could you go see if Bear and Wild Dog are awake? I'll go check on Mr. Soldier."

"I'm awake." I said before she could move toward me. My voice sounded hoarse and I realized just how dry my throat was. I pulled myself to my feet, my back aching slightly from having slept in my armor. Serval knelt down and shook Brown Bear's shoulder gently. I saw that Bear and Wild Dog had fallen asleep with their backs pressed against one another. The two Friends yawned and stretched as they stood. Mirai pulled a white backpack out from beneath the piled table cloths they had slept on.

"So what's the plan?" I asked Mirai.

"The control station's entrance is about three-quarters of the way up the Sandstar volcano." She turned to the rabbit-robot. "Lucky, could you pull up a map please?"

"One moment." The robot replied. After a few seconds a glass dome along its midsection began to emit light. The light coalesced into a holographic display of the island we were on. Mirai tapped one section and the display zoomed in onto the area surrounding the volcano. A blue blip of light appeared within the dense forest, several dozen kilometers from the base of the volcano.

"We're here." Mirai said, pointing at the blue spot of light. "And the control station is here." Another blip of light appeared on the volcano, a little below the crater's rim. "We could go straight north, through the forest." As she pointed several beams of light connected the two blips, presumably as the robot calculated possible paths we could take. "However, the terrain that way is really difficult. We stopped letting guests hike there after several of them got injured after nasty falls. And there's a large Cerulean presence in the area." She glanced at the door with a distant look in her eyes. "Professor Kako thinks it's because they're attracted to the Sandstar Rho in the air."

"Alright, so what's the other option?" I asked. The Friends were looking at the holographic map with wide eyes. Serval poked at a tree within the display, causing the image to distort around her finger.

"We go west." Mirai pointed again and a third blip appeared. This spot of light appeared to be perched on a cliff to the west of the forest we were in, high above the ocean below it. "There's a bus depot there," Mirai continued, "There may be a working Japari Bus there for us to use. Even if there isn't, there is a service road from there that leads directly to our destination." At her words, the road was highlighted in the display. It snaked from the bus depot to the volcano and then upward to the control station. "Even following that road on foot would probably faster than fighting our way through the forest." She grimaced. "But we were on our way there last time when we were attacked by the large Ceruleans."

"What are the chances those Ceruleans are still in the area?" I glanced down at the map display. This felt familiar, a mission, a briefing and an enemy to fight.

Mirai shrugged. "I honestly don't know. They might have claimed it as their territory. Some Ceruleans seem to behave in a manner similar to animals at times, but others act erratically. I've never encountered those kind before, so I have no data on them."

"Hmm." I pulled the bolt back slightly on my rifle. Just enough to ensure a round was chambered properly and then I let the bolt slam back into place. "We go west. Time is of the essence, the sooner we find the scientists the better." I felt my heart rate spike at the thought of fighting the large Ceruleans Mirai had mentioned. I hoped it didn't show on my face.

Mirai turned to the Friends. "Does that sound alright to you three?"

Serval nodded. "Yeah! They should have some Japari buns when we get there, right?" Her stomach growled to punctuate her sentence and I felt my lips twitch with the beginnings of a smile.

"It sounds good it me." Brown Bear told Mirai. Wild Dog glanced at Bear and nodded her agreement.

It took me several minutes to carefully extricate myself through the barricade to exit the room. The girls waited patiently on the other side as I made my way through. I heard Wild Dog giggle after a chair leg caught on my pack, causing me to stumble. After freeing myself, we followed Mirai to a spiral staircase that led down to the forest floor. The soft light that filtered through the mist that clung to the branches told me that the sun had only just risen. We stepped off the staircase onto a worn dirt path. I held my rifle at the ready, scanning the undergrowth for any sort of movement but the forest was still.

"This way, then." Mirai's voice broke the stillness. She scooped up the robot from where it walked beside her. It fit snugly into the backpack Mirai had taken from the room we had slept in. She stepped off the path and started pushing her way through the thick undergrowth. We followed; myself to Mirai's left, Bear to her right and with Serval and Wild Dog bringing up the rear. The birds began to wake up, filling the branches above us with a cacophony of song.

"So," I said after a few minutes of walking. "Is there anything else you can tell me about the Ceruleans, ma'am?"

Mirai glanced at me over her shoulder. "What do you want to know?"

"Oh I don't know...weaknesses, habits, patterns, favorite colors?" I shrugged. "Anything really."

"There's not much to tell really." She replied. "We don't know a whole lot. They're created when Sandstar comes into contact with inorganic material. Sandstar contacting the same inorganic material tends to produce the same kinds of Ceruleans, but it's not a certainty." She stepped carefully over a root that had erupted from the earth. "Every Cerulean seems to be driven by a desire to consume more Sandstar. Friends naturally contain high amounts of Sandstar within their bodies as a result of their transformation from animal to Friend." She shot a look back at Serval, who smiled at her. Mirai returned the smile and continued. "Because of this, Ceruleans will aggressively pursue any Friend they encounter in an attempt to consume their Sandstar."

"I imagine that doesn't end well for the Friend." I commented. I caught Brown Bear looking at me from the other side of Mirai. She glared for a moment when we made eye contact, but then snapped her gaze to the front.

"No, it doesn't." Mirai said to me. "They are turned back into the animal they were before they became Friends." She shivered then, although by then the rising sun had gotten rid of the morning chill. A forlorn look crossed Serval's face, but only briefly.

"They pursue humans as well," Mirai continued after a moment. "But not as enthusiastically as they do Friends." She shrugged. "That's about all we know for certain. When there was a Queen the others followed her orders, but this time they don't have that kind of organization." A crow cawed above us, causing us all to glance upward.

"Ughhhh." Serval groaned and fell to her knees while clutching her stomach.

"Are you okay?!" Wild Dog crouched down beside her.

"So hungry…" Serval cried mournfully. She reached out and grabbed Wild Dog's shoulder. "I'm gonna starve."

"Serval, stop being dramatic." Mirai's hands were on her hips and her voice was stern, but her eyes failed to hide her amusement. "You'll be fine, they'll be food at the bus depot."

"But that's so far away." Serval fell backwards onto the forest floor, staring up at the canopy.

"We're all hungry too, Serval." Mirai pulled the Friend back to her feet. "The faster we get there, the faster we can eat."

I felt my own stomach rumble at the thought. I let my rifle hang by its sling at my side and started patting myself along my arms and legs. Brown Bear raised an eyebrow at me.

"What...are you doing?" She asked.

I didn't reply, but started digging into one of the cargo pockets on my thigh. My uniform had more pockets than I could ever have use for, so I found that filling any available space with protein bars to be very helpful on long missions.

"Here," I pulled a pair of bars held together by a rubber band out of the pocket and tossed it to Mirai. "It's not much, but it'll hold you over."

Wild Dog looked at me expectantly and after a second's hesitation, I reached into my shoulder pocket and pulled out another pair of bars. I pulled the rubber band off and tossed one to Wild Dog. Brown Bear glanced at me and I held the remaining bar out to her. Her gaze softened somewhat and she took the bar without a word.

Serval had ripped open the packaging on her bar and took a big bite, chewing loudly. "Thanks, Mr. Soldier." She said to me. "Are you not eating?"

I shrugged. "Don't have anymore." Out of the corner of my eye I saw Bear shoot me a look, but I decided not to acknowledge it. "We should keep moving." I said after a moment. "Eat while you walk." Mirai nodded her agreement.

We continued on, the only sounds were the girls chewing and a couple of birds above us. We passed a large mound of piled sticks and moss, carefully making our way around it. We were a few meters beyond it when I felt the hairs rise on the back of my neck. I lifted my rifle to my shoulder and scanned the trees around us. The trunks were large and tightly clustered, limiting my sightlines.

"What is it?" Mirai asked in a hushed voice.

"Not sure." I replied, keeping my voice equally low. "Something's not right."

Wild Dog was the furthest back in our group and only a meter or so from the large mound of sticks and moss. As she tossed the last remnants of her protein bar into her mouth, her foot came down on a stick in her path. The stick snapped and the mound of moss and sticks swung upward as if it was hinged. A writhing mass of orange flesh emerged from the hole beneath it and Wild Dog screamed as an appendage similar to a crab's claw seized hold of her lower leg. The Cerulean retreated back into its hole and Wild Dog was yanked off her feet and dragged toward the opening.

The rest of us moved the moment we heard her scream. Serval and Mirai were closer and managed to grab hold of Wild Dog's arms. The two of them were able to prevent the Cerulean from pulling Wild Dog further into the hole, the leg held by the claw just barely dangled over the lip. Brown Bear and I rushed forward and were able to get underneath the hinged lid as it came swinging back down, one on each side. The lid came down onto my shoulders and it was far heavier than I expected. The impact knocked the wind from my lungs and I almost fell to my knees. From below I could see that the mound was held together with a sticky, black substance. I grit my teeth and snarled from the effort, but I remained standing.

"Get it off me!" Wild Dog cried, her eyes wide. She kicked frantically with her other leg at the claw holding her, but didn't seem to have any effect. Down the hole I could catch a glimpse of something that had far too many insectoid limbs, but the shadows prevented me from getting a good look at it. Its single unblinking eye glared up at us.

"Dammit." I swore through gritted teeth. My rifle hung uselessly from its sling and I couldn't get a hold of it without dropping my side of the lid. The Cerulean in the hole chittered and growled. Then its claw squeezed.

I heard the bones in Wild Dog's leg snap.

She screamed, a sound filled with a piercing agony. That sound drowned out my own thoughts and I dropped to one knee. I used one hand to rip the pistol from its holster on my chest. I lined the sights up with that glaring eye and emptied the magazine into it. The Cerulean screeched and released its grip on Wild Dog's mangled leg. Serval and Mirai immediately began to drag her away from the hole. Bear and I dove out from under the lid once she was clear and it slammed shut. I holstered my pistol and kept my rifle sighted on the mound as we backpedaled away from it. I could hear Wild Dog sobbing as they dragged her across the forest floor. It wasn't until long after the mound was out of our sight did they slow to a stop. Tears streamed down Wild Dog's face and she was biting down onto the cuff of her sleeve.

"What was that thing?" I snarled at Mirai.

"I don't know!" She nearly shouted back at me. "A Cerulean! Obviously!"

I ignored her response and knelt down next to Wild Dog. Bear and Serval knelt on her other side and Mirai cradled her head in her lap. I grimaced looking at her leg. Her leggings were torn and bloody. Sharp, white shards of bone protruded through the skin in multiple places and her leg was bent at an unnatural angle.

"Can you help her?" Serval asked me, her eyes wide.

My hand went to the IFAK pouch on my belt. The acronym stood for Individual First Aid Kit. Every soldier carried one so that they would have access to basic medical supplies in the event of an emergency. Within it I had tourniquets to stop bleeding, splints to set her leg and padding to help protect it from further injury. I couldn't fix this kind of injury, but I could get her mobile again and reduce her pain. I started to undo the buckle on the pouch, but I paused. I let out a long breath through my nose. I stood and stepped back from Wild Dog.

"What are you doing?" Brown Bear asked me, her voice more of a growl.

"I'm not wasting medical supplies on...an animal." I told her. I turned away from them. I had taken two steps when I felt an iron grip close around my upper arm.

"You are not leaving." Mirai told me. Her voice was like steel and she had storm clouds in her eyes. "Not until we help her."

A miniature thunder clap sounded behind us. Brown Bear stood over Wild Dog, holding a flame in her hand. The fire was flickering through a kaleidoscope of colors and instead of ashes it had the same bits of incandescent light that came from the Friend's eyes when they fought.

"You know a healing skill?!" Serval asked, staring at the flame in Bear's hand.

"Koala taught me it." Bear told her, her voice strained. "I've never tried to use it before."

"What is that?" I asked Mirai.

"Some Friends are able to use their inner supply of Sandstar to heal the injuries of others." She gazed at the flame, eyes wide. "Its very taxing for the user, doubly so when they're inexperienced. I've never heard of a Brown Bear Friend being able to use one."

Bear knelt down beside Wild Dog's injured leg. "Wild Dog," She said quietly, "This is going to hurt." She shoved the fire into Wild Dog's wound. For the third time that day, the forest echoed with Wild Dog's screams. I was transfixed as the shards of bone retracted beneath the skin and flesh melded back together. When the flames subsided, Wild Dog's skin was bruised and beaten but it was whole. The wound that was only minutes old looked as if it had been healing for several weeks. Brown Bear and Serval helped her to her feet. She winced, but the injured leg was able to hold her weight.

"That was amazing, Bear!" Serval nearly knocked Wild Dog over again in her excitement.

"Than-" Bear was unable to finish the word before she collapsed to the forest floor. The others rushed to help her up, and Wild Dog eyed me warily. For some reason I could not bring myself to look her in the eyes.

"I'm fine." Brown Bear said as they steadied her on her feet. "Just a little tired." Her eyes locked on to me and she advanced toward me. My grip tightened on my rifle and I had to consciously stop myself from backing away from her. She stopped barely inches from me. I said nothing as she glared up at me. Then, she spit. The phlegm landed on my cheek.

"Bastard." She snarled and pushed past me. The others followed her. After a moment, I reached up to wipe the spit off my face. Wild Dog watched me as she passed. She said nothing, but I still couldn't look her in the eyes.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

The silence as we walked was only broken by our muffled footsteps in the damp earth. Brown Bear did not leave Wild Dog's side as she gingerly used her wounded leg. Ironically, it was Bear who stumbled several times. More than once I saw her grimace as it looked like she was fighting back a wave of nausea. I tried to keep my mind focused on watching our surroundings. We were still in enemy territory and I did not want to get caught off guard again. The knot I felt in the pit of my stomach did not make the task any easier.

"Ms. Guide..." Serval's voice ripped me from my thoughts and I saw Mirai jump a little too.

"What is it?" Mirai asked, turning to her.

"The birds." Serval pointed upward. "They're gone." We all turned our gaze upwards, but the only sound was a slight breeze rustling the branches.

"That's not good…" Mirai's voice was low enough that I almost couldn't hear her. She shot me a worried glance and I lifted my rifle to a ready position. The stock felt cold as it pressed against my cheek. I scanned the surrounding undergrowth through the weapon's scope, but nothing moved.

Brown Bear held out her hand, tendrils of light emerging from it. The light began to solidify into the shape of her staff. It was nearly half formed when the image shuttered and shattered like glass. Bear fell to her knees and clutched at her stomach, her face going pale. She swallowed hard and grimaced. Wild Dog helped her to her feet.

"You should rest." She said to Bear, her voice low. "You saved me, so I'll keep you safe until you get your strength back." She smiled at the other girl then and some of the color returned to Bear's face.

"Soldier." Mirai said from beside me. Some of the steel from earlier remained in her voice. "Look there." I followed where she pointed and saw what I had thought to be a small hill was actually a mass of dirt and roots. "That's not natural." Mirai turned to look at me from over her glasses. "Stay close." She set off, Serval close on her heels. I shot a glance at the other two Friends, but they ignored me and followed Mirai. After a moment, I set off after them. I kept my rifle at the ready as we approached the pile of roots. Once we got closer, I could see it was the bottom of a massive tree that had been uprooted violently. Shards of wood and clumps of dirt were scattered in a wide area around the crater the roots had left in the earth. Serval and Wild Dog scrunched up their noses almost simultaneously.

"Something smells horrible." Serval covered her nose with her hands. A moment later the smell hit me, the scent of rancid meat. The smell brought memories bubbling to the surface, images of blowing sand and a single grave. I grimaced and forced the memories back down. Now was not the time.

We stepped around the root system and I saw the source of the odor. An animal had been trapped beneath the trunk as it fell. Only its rear half was visible, the front disappearing beneath the fallen tree. From what I could tell, it had been some kind of canine with gray fur. The body had been there for a day or two, judging from its state of decay. Mirai inhaled sharply when she saw the corpse and Serval's ears drooped.

"I wonder if that was a Friend..." Serval said, more to herself than to any of us. Her eyes widened as she glanced upward. She tapped Mirai on the shoulder and pointed. "Ms. Guide…"

Dozens of large trunks had been uprooted and shoved aside. Something had torn through the forest, leaving ripped earth and shredded trees in its wake. The path of devastation was nearly 5 meters in width and stretched far into the distance, whatever had uprooted these trees had been traveling east and in a hurry.

"What did this?" Mirai breathed. "A Cerulean? But I've never seen one so large..." She reached out to touch a section of the trunk beside us that had been torn into jagged pieces.

"I have." I said and all eyes turned to me. "The Cerulean that brought down my team's helicopter." I gestured at the ruin around us. "It was big enough to do this."

"Something like that would've been nice to know before." Mirai's tone was scathing. Wild Dog knelt beside the animal's corpse and reached out to touch its matted fur with her fingertips.

I watched her for just a moment before turning away. "We should keep moving." I carefully stepped around a jagged chunk of wood and continued east. "At least this thing cleared the way for us."

It was several hours later and my feet had begun to ache when we came to a turn in the path of torn trees. It twisted sharply north, heading straight toward the Sandstar volcano. The sun had begun to dip low in the sky and long shadows were cast by the trees that still stood. I paused for a moment and gazed up at the enormous cubic crystals that rested on the top of the volcano.

"The bus depot isn't far." Mirai said beside me. "Come on." She set off into the trees again.

"Good, I hope they have some Japari buns." Serval said and her stomach growled audibly.

I started after Mirai and Serval, carefully stepping through the undergrowth. Bear and Wild Dog followed behind me, talking in lowered voices.

"Are you doing okay?" Wild Dog asked, for probably the 4th time in the last fifteen minutes.

"I told you, I'm fine." Bear replied, but I could hear a smile in her voice. "I should be worrying about you, not the other way around."

"Don't be silly." Wild Dog told her. "We're friends, of course I'm gonna worry about you."

It was few moments before Bear said anything. "Thank you. I...I don't have a lot of friends."

"Ahh, amazing!" Serval's shout tore my attention away from their conversation. "Is that the ocean?!"

We emerged from the forest onto an open grassy field. On the other side from us, the field ended in a steep cliff. Beyond the cliff I could see the turbulent waves of the ocean below us. The sea was painted a myriad of colors as the sun sunk toward the horizon.

"Yes it is, Serval." Mirai said. Serval started toward the cliff's edge, but before she could move more than a step, Mirai had reached out and grabbed her wrist. "Don't go near the edge." Mirai told her sternly. "These cliffs are dangerous and unstable, the next earthquake could send the whole thing into the ocean."

"Aww, okay." Serval grumbled.

To our left I saw a small building. The side facing us was dominated by a large garage door adorned with the Japari Park logo. Beside it was a smaller, human-sized door. I pointed at the structure.

"That what we're looking for?"

Mirai nodded. "Let's go."

We found that both doors had been locked securely. I was sizing up the smaller one to determine if I could kick it down when Mirai pulled a small keychain from within her fanny pack. Inside we found a small office that looked like it had been hastily abandoned. A rolling chair had fallen onto its side and a desk was set against the back corner. A single coffee mug rested beside a stack of papers, still half full. To our left was another door, left slightly ajar. I shot a glance at Mirai before using the muzzle of my rifle to push the door open the rest of the way. The room beyond was dark and nothing immediately leapt at us from the shadows. I flipped on the flashlight mounted to my rifle. It illuminated the garage beyond, revealing several large tool boxes along one wall. There were two places where a vehicle could be rolled onto a platform and elevated, but both were currently empty. A large puddle of oil pooled on the concrete floor. I stepped over it carefully and scanned the rest of the room. A small handheld tool box had spilled open onto the floor, one of the wrenches having landed in the oil. Nothing tried to attack me, so I allowed myself to relax slightly after a moment.

"All clear." I said it mostly out of habit, the others had followed me into the room almost immediately. "No buses either."

"They must have been out when the evacuation was called." Mirai looked over her shoulder at the garage door.

"Everybody, look!" Serval shouted. She had located a mini fridge that had been shoved into the corner of the garage. "There's a whole stash of Japari Buns here!" She pulled out a large packaged pastry and began tearing into the wrapper. Inside was pink bun with the Japari Park logo on its top. Serval took a big bite and chewed loudly. "Sooooo good."

My stomach grumbled watching her eat. "Alright, grab what food you can carry and let's go." I said to the others. "We should keep moving."

Something outside roared, a deep rumbling sound that shook the concrete walls around us. It sounded far off, but I still felt the rumbling in my bones.

"The hell…" I hurried back to the small office we had entered through and peered through the small window set into the door. The world beyond had been painted red and orange with the last few rays of daylight.

"The sun's going down." Mirai said, looking over my shoulder. "I think that upset that big Cerulean."

"Hmm. Well, it's pretty far off." I reached for the handle of the door, but Mirai grabbed my wrist.

"Wait." She said. "Listen." I paused and did as she said. After a moment I heard it. Yelping and howling, the sounds reminded me of hyenas, but distorted somehow. "Those battle-form Ceruleans we saw back at the Lodge are out." Mirai continued. "They're hunting. I think we should stay here for the night."

I pulled out of her grip. "We don't have time to wait for that long."

"What are you going to do if the entire pack comes for you?" She asked. I hefted my rifle in response and Mirai raised an eyebrow. "And when you run out of bullets?"

I narrowed my eyes at her. "I thought you said you weren't going to abandon your family?"

"I'm _not!_ " She snapped. "But we won't do them any good if we end up _dead!_ " I saw Serval wince at the sharpness in Mirai's tone.

I felt a pang of regret spike through my chest like a shard of ice. "Yeah, you're right." I said after a moment. "We'll camp here."

Mirai exhaled sharply through her nose and stalked away from me. The group of Friends parted to let her pass, Serval following after her a moment later. Mirai sat down with her back to the far wall, Serval taking a seat beside her. Wild Dog and Bear shot me a glance before moving to sit with the other two. The four formed a small circle and I heard Serval say something too quietly for me to make it out. The other three giggled and for some reason I felt my neck get hot. I took a seat on the desk, facing the doorway. The desk creaked under my weight, but it held. I rested my rifle in my lap and did a mental tally of my remaining ammunition. I had five full magazines left for my rifle, a total of one hundred and fifty rounds. In addition to that, I had three remaining mags for my sidearm. I shot a glance at Mirai and wondered just how many Ceruleans were roaming the forest outside.

I heard the rustling of plastic wrappers and then the sounds of chewing. Serval had piled the Japari Buns in the center of their circle and the girls had each chosen one. They talked in low voices as they ate, but I did my best to ignore them and keep my attention on the doorway. My stomach betrayed me, growling extremely loudly. The girl's conversation stopped and I let out a long breath through my nose. After a moment I felt a tap on my shoulder. I looked up into the face of African Wild Dog.

"Here." She held out a packaged Japari Bun. She looked tired and there was still mud on her face from her encounter with the Cerulean that day. She smiled at me and another shard of ice stabbed through my chest.

After a moment I took the bun and nodded in gratitude. She returned to her seat and I peeled the wrapper off the bun. It was orange, with a yellow Japari Park logo on top. Up close I saw that the logo was actually a layer of frosting. After a moment's hesitation I took a bite. The bread was soft and fluffy. It was sweet, tasting of some sort of fruit. Mango, I decided as I chewed. At any rate, it was much better than the MRE rations I was used to and I had to consciously slow myself down as I devoured the bun.

"Hey, Human." Brown Bear called from where she was seated.

"What?" I replied through a mouthful of Japari Bun.

"How many people have you killed?"

I nearly choked on my food.

"Bear!" Mirai shot me a worried look as I swallowed the lump in my throat painfully. "You don't ask someone that!" She said.

"I just wanted to kn-" Bear started saying

"Nineteen." I cut her off, growling out the word.

Bear's look darkened. "Nineteen." She repeated. "You act like our lives don't matter to you." She gestured to the other two Friends. "But you've killed nineteen humans. Is there anyone's lives that you actually care about?"

I twisted around to face her, white hot anger bubbling inside me. I thought of several things to say to her, that those men had been the enemy. That I had no choice. That I had been ordered to do it. My responses died on my tongue before I could voice them. Even in my head they had sounded hollow. My anger died with them and I just felt...tired. I turned to Mirai.

"Wake me when it's my turn to keep watch." I said, removing my pack. I laid it down as a pillow once again and rested my head upon it. I faced the concrete wall and kept my back toward the others. After a moment Serval said something and their conversation continued, but I was no longer paying attention to the words. It did not take long for sleep to find me.

And then the nightmare started.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

Bullets flew past my head and struck the wall behind me. I dove behind a waist-high stone fence as rubble rained down around me. I slammed a fresh magazine into my rifle and wiped the sweat that dripped from my forehead. A hot wind blew across my face and stirred up the sand around my feet. I blinked to stop the stinging in my eyes and tried to remember why I was here. There was a target...? Yes. Here in this town, someone my team needed to take out.

The bullets firing over my head paused. I stood and located their source; a vaguely man-shaped blob standing on the roof of a nearby building. I fired my rifle and the figure fell backwards. The rifle did not kick with recoil, but at the time I paid that no mind. I turned and headed out onto a dirt path. Three men stood there, dressed in the same uniform I was. Shadows fell across their faces and I could not make out any details. A German Shepherd drifted between their legs, a camouflage vest on his back.

"Hey!" I called out to the other members of my team as I approached. "What's the plan?"

"There isn't one, Knight." The closest man to me said. I recognized the voice as my commander, Captain Jackson.

"What are you talking about, sir?" I tapped him lightly on the shoulder. He did not react. "There's always a plan."

"Knight...you idiot." He smiled then and suddenly their faces were clear. Empty eye sockets gazed out at me from behind a mask of rotting flesh. His smile was simply his teeth showing through holes in his tattered skin. It was then I saw each man had tears in his clothing, from which festering wounds leaked pus and blood. Jackson reached out and seized my shoulders in skeletal hands. "You left us…" I felt his hot breath on my face as he snarled the words.

I tried to twist out of his grip, but my foot was caught underneath me. I landed on my back, hard. The German Shepherd pounced and planted his front paw into my chest. He gazed down at me, rotting flesh sloughing off his exposed jaws. "No...please..." I choked out the words. "I'm sorry." The Shepherd paused for just a moment. Then he lunged for my throat.

The first thing I noticed upon opening my eyes was someone was standing over me, reaching out toward me. My body reacted on instinct. I seized their outstretched hand and yanked them toward me. My other hand pulled the pistol from its holster on my chest and jammed it into my assailant's chin.

"I...I.." Serval's wide eyes stared at me as she stammered out the words. "Y-you were making weird noises and I-I wanted to make sure you were okay." I released her arm and she pulled back quickly. She was seated beside me on the desk I had chosen to sleep on.

"I'm fine." I told her. I returned my pistol to its holster and laid my head back down onto my makeshift pillow.

"Were you having a nightmare?" Serval asked.

"Yes." I closed my eyes and hoped she would leave me alone.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Serval kept her voice low, but it sounded like she had scooted closer to me. I didn't answer and hoped she would take the hint. She didn't. "I get nightmare sometimes too." She said after a moment. "Sometimes I dream that I can't find any Japari Buns anywhere. Not a single one in the park. I get so hungry that my stomach growling wakes me up. Then I make sure to eat every Japari Bun I can find that day."

I sat up and looked at her, wondering if she was joking. The look of genuine distress on her face caused a chuckle to bubble up from deep within my chest. "Sounds terrible." I told her, the smile still playing on my lips. "What?" I asked after I saw the look Serval was giving me.

"Bear said that you probably didn't know to laugh." Her eyes glittered mischievously. "I proved her wrong."

"Guess you did." I glanced around the room. Mirai was still asleep, the Lucky Beast robot clutched to her chest like a teddy bear. Brown Bear and Wild Dog were cuddled up beside her, Bear playing the big spoon. I watched their slow breathing for a moment, surprised that we hadn't woken them.

"Okay, I told you about my nightmares so now you have to tell me about yours." Serval said. "They're less scary when you talk about them."

"Thats-" I started to say, but paused. "Fine. It was about my team. My friends. The ones I've lost. They were mad at me. Mad that I had lived while they died." I looked away from her then, feeling an aching in my chest. "My team used to have a dog with it. His name was Duke." The words started pouring out of me, unbidden. "He was a puppy when I first met him. We trained together as he grew up and then he was by my side during every mission. Then one day, when I was in that damn Sandpit, we received a call over the radio." I swallowed past the lump in my throat. "Another unit had been hit by an IED in the middle of a small village. They had wounded and we were the closest vehicle so we swung by to pick them. They waited until we had the wounded loaded onto litters to start the ambush. Bullets were flying, people were hurt and I lost track of Duke. They called in a chopper to get us out of there, but Duke never made it onto that bird." My eyes felt moist and I blinked hard. "We had installed a radio on his vest so that he could hear our voices during missions. 'Good boy' and all that. But all it did that day was let us hear him cry out in pain." I let out a long breath through my nose. "The guys on my team, we all know the risks with our jobs. Every mission could be our last and we make our peace with that. But Duke didn't know that. All he knew is he was hurt and his family wasn't coming to help him. I never would've asked that chopper to wait for me, but sometimes I wish that I had stayed behind. Duke and I could've made it out of there together. At the very least...he wouldn't have been alone when he died."

Serval was quiet for a long moment. "When a Friend gets eaten by a Cerulean, they don't die. Not technically." She said and I looked up at her, confused at where this was heading. "They get turned back into the animal they used to be. But who they were, their memories, their personality, it's all gone. Even if they get turned back into a Friend they won't remember who they used to be." Her ears drooped. "It'll just be someone you don't know running around with your best friend's face." She reached up and wiped at her eyes. "But I think that as long as I remember them, they're never truly gone. Not completely. Some part of them will always be in my heart." She patted her chest and smiled sadly. "That's why I try to be happy even when bad things are happening. So that if it ever happens to me, my friends will have plenty of happy memories to remember me by." She looked up at me and her smile lost some of its sadness. "So why don't you tell me some of your happy memories of your friends. That way we can remember them together."

The aching in my chest lessened and I let myself smile back at her. "Alright. So Duke, whenever he met new people he would bring them a toy. If he really liked you, he'd bring you his favorite; a big old stuffed walrus. You could look at the walrus, but you couldn't touch it. Only me and Captain Jackson could touch the walrus. This one time a colonel picked up the walrus and threw it, trying to get Duke to play fetch. Duke looked him dead in the eyes and pissed all over his boots." I chuckled at the memory and Serval laughed with me.

We traded stories like that for hours. Serval told me about how she and her friend Caracal had snuck backstage during a concert in the park and how they had to run from security. I told her the story of how Duke had managed to figure out which MRE held his favorite snacks and stolen the camp's entire supply. We never did figure out where he had buried it all. I do not know how long we talked, but we didn't stop until the first rays of sun began to stream in through the windows. The Lucky Beast's alarm went off, rousing the others from their slumber. Mirai yawned as she sat up and stretched. She shot Serval a confused look when she saw the Friend was seated beside me. I hopped off the desk and retrieved my rifle from where it had rested.

"Rise and shine, people." I said as I checked my weapon. I heard grumbling from the direction of Bear and Wild Dog. The two nearly fell over trying to untangle themselves from each other. I had to force myself not to smirk at them.

Serval handed each of us a Japari Bun for breakfast and we headed out, eating as we walked. Mine was navy blue this time, tasting strongly of blueberry. We followed the service road away from the bus depot. To call it a road was being generous, it was little more than a worn dirt path with tire ruts on either side. The Sandstar volcano loomed above us, the crystals glittering in the rising sun. Out of the corner of my eye I caught Mirai looking at me oddly.

"What is it?" I asked her.

"You seem...different." She said. "Like you're actually in a good mood."

"Just got a good night's sleep I guess." I glanced over my shoulder at Serval just in time to see a smile flicker across her lips.

The path we were on started to incline sharply as we approached the volcano. The trees around us began to thin and a cool breeze began to blow.

"Ms. Guide." Brown Bear inhaled sharply and her eyes went wide. The other two Friends covered their noses. My rifle snapped up and I started scanning the landscape around us. Nothing moved.

"What's wrong?" Mirai asked Bear in a low voice.

"There is something dead over there." She pointed to our right, just off the road. "It smells...wrong."

Mirai shot a look at me and I nodded. Keeping my rifle at the ready, I moved toward the area Bear had indicated. Bear summoned her staff with a grimace and followed just behind me. We didn't have to go far before I saw it. A human corpse lay on its side beneath the shadow of an overgrown fern. It wore the same uniform I did. I felt as if someone had dumped ice water directly into my stomach. My hand shook slightly as I brushed the leaves away from the corpse's face and my stomach dropped. The man looked as if every fluid had been drained out of him and then left in the sun for days. The skin resembled leather more than anything human. The lips were pulled back in an eternal scream, the eyes wide in terror. Mirai gasped when she saw the body. Serval and Wild Dog both went pale.

"Did you know him?" Mirai asked, her eyes not leaving the corpse.

"Yes." I said, feeling sick to my stomach. "He's my commander. His name was Jackson." I reached down and felt along the corpse's neck. I found what I was looking for, a small metal chain. Attached to the chain were two dog-tags, I carefully removed one and placed it in a pocket on my vest. With two fingers I closed the body's eyes. "Rest now, brother." I said the words quietly, so that only I could hear them. "I'll see this through to the end." I stood and stepped back from the corpse, blinking hard. I still had a job to do.

"We only dropped a few days ago," I said to Mirai, "What could have done this to him?"

It took her a moment to tear her eyes away from the body. "Humans naturally have Sandstar in our bodies. We don't know why or what its function is, but its something special about us. Our 'sparkle', we called it. When a human is consumed by a Cerulean, it drains their Sandstar and…" She nodded at the body. ".. _that_ happens." She shuddered. "I've only seen it once before."

I inhaled a long breath through my nose. "Alright, let's keep moving." I headed back to the road, brushing past Brown Bear as I did so. The others followed after a moment, but I noticed they kept back further away from me than before. The landscape around us became more rocky as we ascended. I tried to focus on watching for movement around us, to try to distract myself from the ice in my chest. After a while I felt a tap on my shoulder and looked down to see Serval beside me.

"You okay?" She asked. The look in her eyes melted the ice in my chest somewhat and I forced myself to smile at her.

"Yeah." I said, although my voice sounded hoarse. "I'm just thinking about all the good memories I had with him."

Serval returned my smile. We walked in silence again, but this time Serval remained beside me. I gazed up at the Sandstar volcano, dominating the sky above us. I wondered just what waited for us at the top.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

A cool breeze blew against my face and a shiver ran down my spine. We had nearly reached the edge of the treeline, the few hardy trees around us were gnarled and stunted. Beside me Serval shivered and hugged herself against the wind.

I turned to Mirai. "How much farther?" I asked.

"Approximately three kilometers." The robot replied from within Mirai's backpack.

She pointed at the pack with her thumb. "What he said."

Serval and Wild Dog's ears twitched and the two turned to face back the way we had come.

"Oh no.." Wild Dog's face paled.

"What is..." The words died in my throat as I heard it too. A deep, rumbling roar. The loose rocks around our feet began to jump and shudder as the vibrations intensified. I brought my rifle up to my cheek and took a few steps back down the slope. Bear summoned her staff and twirled it in her hands. She took a deep breath as whatever was making the noise grew closer. That was when we saw it.

Emerging from the forest were two huge Ceruleans, one a deep maroon and the other a vibrant purple. Their bodies resembled bears, but each was at least 4 meters tall. They ran on all fours, barreling toward us. In place of a head they had writhing mass of cephalopodic tentacles surrounding a gaping, circular maw. Above the tentacles they each had a single black eye.

I flicked my rifle's selector to 'auto' and fired. The weapon kicked against my shoulder and my feet dug into the rocky ground from the recoil. Bullets rained down onto the Ceruleans, but they charged through the barrage without slowing down. Their roar turned almost gleeful as they closed in on us. My rifle clicked empty and then the Ceruleans were on top of us.

Mirai, Brown Bear and I dove to our right as the Ceruleans barreled past us. The maroon one was closer to us and it slammed into a rock as it tried to slow down its enormous girth. It snarled as it turned toward us. On the other side of the two Ceruleans, Serval and Wild Dog faced down the purple one. Fluid began to drip from their toothed maws.

"Serval, Wild Dog!" Mirai called to the Friends as I slammed a fresh magazine into my rifle. "They're too strong! You need to run!" If they replied, I didn't hear it as the Ceruleans roared again. I lifted my rifle and fired two shots at the maroon Cerulean. They stuck its flailing tentacles and tore out chunks of flesh. The Cerulean didn't seem to notice.

Mirai grabbed my arm and yanked me backwards. "Move it, you idiot!" She shouted at me, eye wide. She set off at a sprint toward the treeline with Bear beside her. I followed, the Cerulean shaking the ground beneath my feet as it set off in pursuit.

Trees creaked and cracked as the maroon Cerulean crashed through the forest behind us. I glanced over my shoulder and my heart leapt into my throat. The Cerulean was far too close for comfort. When my gaze returned to the front, I saw Mirai and Brown Bear were nowhere in sight.

"What-?" I was cut off as a hand emerged from behind a fallen trunk and yanked me off my feet. I landed face first in a puddle of mud. Scrambling to my feet I saw the tree had fallen across a small stream and I was crouching in the small space beneath it. Mirai and Brown Bear were beside me, mud smeared across their faces. Mirai reached over and began to rub another handful of mud on my neck.

"What are yo-" I recoiled back from her.

"Shh!" She glanced upward. "I'm hiding your scent!"

Realization dawned and I grabbed another clump of mud and smeared it across my body. The stream rippled as the ground shook with approaching footsteps. Bear pulled me down beside them, my back pressed against the wall of the streambed. The footsteps slowed as they grew closer and then paused. Above us, I could hear the Cerulean inhale a deep breath. On either side of me, I felt Bear and Mirai tense. It felt like an hour before the Cerulean snorted and its footsteps began to recede into the forest. I let out the breath I was holding in.

"How do we kill that thing?" I asked, keeping my voice low.

"I..I don't know." Mirai said after a moment. "It would take a lot of Friends to take down a Cerulean that big." She stood slowly, carefully peeking out from underneath the fallen log. "And with two of them, I don't know if we have a chance…"

"We can figure that out later." Bear said from beside me. "We need to find Wild Dog and Serval."

Mirai nodded and I didn't respond. We emerged from beneath the trunk, I kept my rifle at the ready but the forest around us was still. I started back the way we had come, the undergrowth crunching underneath my boots. The others followed after a moment.

"Are those the Ceruleans you saw before?" I asked Mirai, not taking my eyes off the forest around us.

"Yeah that was them." She said grimly. "They used the same tactic to separate us from Professor Kako."

At her words a knot settled in my stomach. After seeing those Ceruleans up close, I no longer had high hopes that we would find the Professor in one piece. I decided not to voice those concerns. We emerged from the forest back onto the service road. Deep gouges had been made in the earth where the Ceruleans had stepped. The trees around us were still, even the birds had gone silent.

"Bear!" Wild Dog's voice called out as she stumbled out from behind a tree. She was breathing heavily as she jogged over to us. "Ms. Guide! We have to help Serval!" Bear caught her as she stumbled again and almost fell.

"Take a breath." Mirai told her. "What happened?"

"Th-the purple Cerulean came after us." Wild Dog panted. "I never ran so fast in my life. Serval… Serval told me to come find you guys. Then she stopped and started throwing rocks at the Cerulean. I think it got really mad. I tried to stop her but she started leading it away from me." She grabbed ahold of Bear's collar and pulled her close. "We have to go find her!"

"We will." Bear said and pulled the other Friend to her feet. "Let's go." She had taken two steps before she paused and turned to face me. I hadn't moved. "You… you're not going to come, are you?"

I said nothing, but I had to look away from her gaze. An ache had begun deep within my chest.

"You… bastard!" Bear snarled at me. "You're going to stand there and do nothing while that thing tries to kill her. Do you truly not care if she dies?!"

"No, I don't!" White hot anger bubbled forth from within me. " How many times do I have to say this?! She is an animal! You are an animal." I pointed at Mirai. "She is human. Her life matters to me. Yours. Does. Not!" It was only when the echo had faded did I realize that I had shouted the last few words. The two Friends stared at me with wide eyes.

"I told Serval what you were like." Bear said to me, blinking hard. "She didn't believe me." Her hands balled into fists at her side. "She said you had a kind soul. It's going to break her heart when I tell her how wrong she was." She summoned her staff into her hands and turned to Wild Dog. "Come on, our friend needs our help." The two of them turned their backs to me and headed off into the woods. I turned to see Mirai staring at me.

"Is that what you truly think?" Her voice was calm despite the storm raging in her eyes. "That our lives are worth more than theirs?"

"Let's keep moving." I said, taking a step up the slope. Mirai did not move.

"You are right about one thing." She said. "They're not human. But now I don't think you are either." She pushed past me to follow the Friends, and I did not move to stop her. Her words hung in the air and I felt as if someone had taken a sledgehammer to my chest. I looked up into the sky for a long long moment, but I found no answers there. I let out a racking breath that was more a sob than anything else. My grip tightened on my rifle and I turned and headed into the forest after them.

The Cerulean roared in the distance and I sprinted toward the sound. My pace slowed and I readied my rifle as I approached the scene. Serval had led the Cerulean around into a deep crevice that cut into the side of the mountain. Looking down into it, I could see the rock walls were high above the Cerulean's head. Serval was desperately scrambling up the rock face, Mirai and the other two Friends waiting at the top to recieve her. Serval wasn't climbing fast enough though and the Cerulean was closing in on her. It lifted one of its forearms as it prepared to strike.

My rifle snapped up and I fired a burst into the Cerulean's head. One bullet struck its eye and it roared in pain. A smile spread across Serval's face as she saw me and the other's looked at me in surprise.

"Over here, ya bastard!" I shouted down at the Cerulean as it turned to regard me. I fired another burst, but the Cerulean raised an arm to cover its eye and the bullets impacted harmlessly into its flesh.

"Myamyamyamya!" Serval meowed as she scrambled up the cliff and into the waiting arms of Bear and Wild Dog. The three of them fell backward as they pulled her away from the edge. I felt a smile spread across my face when I saw she was safe. Mirai caught my gaze and I looked away from them. The storm clouds were still swirling in her eyes. I fired another burst down at the Cerulean, but it didn't flinch. It stared up at me with its single eye and I felt a shudder run down my spine.

"Everyone okay?" I asked as I approached the group.

"Yeah!" Serval beamed, but the others regarded me coldly. "I almost got eaten, but I'm so glad you all show-"

The ground shuddered once. I turned just in time to see the top half of the Cerulean clear the side of the crevice as it leapt. Its bulk slammed into the cliffside, causing the ground under our feet to shake once again. Its tentacles dug into the earth as it held on. One giant forepaw came down, headed directly for Serval. I dove forward, tackling Serval and rolling the two of us away from the Cerulean. I came up on my feet and snapped my rifle up to my cheek.

"Get behind me!" I shouted, unloading rounds into the Cerulean's eye. Its flesh ripped and tore with each impact, but it just seemed to get angrier. It swiped at me with its arm again and I dove underneath the massive limb. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Wild Dog and Mirai dragging Serval away from the Cerulean, Brown Bear standing guard.

I surged to my feet and sprinted toward the Cerulean's head. I ripped a baseball sized sphere from a pouch on my vest. Using my teeth, I pulled the pin off the top. The remains of the Cerulean's eye focused on me as I stood before it. I shoved the grenade deep into its gaping maw. The orifice clamped down around my arm and it felt as if a thousand needles punctured my skin at once. Immediately my arm felt immensely heavier and I felt a grogginess start to invade my mind. My free hand lifted my rifle and pressed the muzzle into the Cerulean's eye.

"Choke on this." I snarled and squeezed the trigger. The Cerulean howled and its grip on my arm relaxed. I yanked my arm free and started sprinting. I could see the others staring at me, wide eyed. "Get down!" I shouted at them. Then the grenade went off. My back was to it, so I did not see the explosion. But I felt it. Chunks of Cerulean smacked into my back, causing me to stumble and fall. The Cerulean screamed. That is the only word I have to describe the sound it made as it fell backward into the crevice, dissolving into cubes as it did so. The ground rumbled again as it stuck the bottom, far below us. Groaning, I got to my feet and I was immediately pulled into an embrace. Serval's ears smacked my face as she hugged me.

"You saved me!" She squeezed hard and the air was forced from my lungs. "I knew you'd come to help me!"

I felt a pang of guilt spike through my chest and I looked up at the others. They said nothing, but regarded me cooly. Bear crossed her arms in front of her chest. I reached up and awkwardly patted Serval's back.

"Serval..I can't breathe." I told her, choking out the words.

"Oh, sorry!" She released her grip and stepped back from me. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." I said after a moment. "Are you?"

Serval nodded. "Thanks to you guys." She looked back at the others and beamed. "That Cerulean was really scary."

"Yeah, lets go." I replaced the magazine in my rifle with a fresh one. "The other one is still around somewhere."

Serval glanced around worriedly. I started off back toward the Sandstar volcano. After a moment I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"I…" Mirai started. Her gaze was not kind, but the tempest in her eyes had died. "Thank you." She said finally.

I hesitated for a long moment. "Let's go." I said, unable to find the words to say how I felt. We emerged back onto the service road shortly afterwards. The crystals on top of the volcano gleamed in the midday sun.

That's when we heard it roaring behind us.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9:

On all fours the maroon Cerulean barreled toward us. Flecks of yellow foam flew from its jaws. Its eye locked onto my and it let out a guttural snarl.

"Son of a..." My curse was drowned out as I fired three shots into the Cerulean. It barely paused as the bullets tore into its flesh. Chunks of dark earth flew through air is it ripped up the ground in its desire to run faster. The Cerulean was nearly on top of me now. I dove to my left as the Cerulean tore through the space I had been just a moment before. I felt the wind from its passing. It tore into the ground in an effort to slow and turn its bulk to follow me. I got my feet under me and stood, firing two more shots into the Cerulean's side. I was suddenly acutely aware of the open sky behind me. The ground gave way to a sheer cliff, rocks I had dislodged were tumbling down into the valley far below. I did not hear them land. The Cerulean turned to face me. My stomach dropped when I realized I had left myself nowhere to dodge this time.

The Cerulean lunged forward, letting out a gleeful shriek. I let my rifle fall to my side and I let out a long, slow breath. The Cerulean was close enough that I could see my reflection in its glossy eye. I dropped to the ground, pressing my face into the damp earth. The Cerulean surged over me and over the cliff. Its cry became fearful and I let a small smile cross my face. The Cerulean began to fall down toward the valley floor below. I felt one of its tentacles wrap around my ankle and my smile vanished. I was yanked backwards and then I was falling. Air rushed passed my ears as I twisted my leg to try to dislodge the Cerulean. It jerked in mid-air and for one brief moment its eye bored into mine. Within that eye I saw nothing but burning hatred. A chill ran ran down my spine.

Then we landed.

The Cerulean struck the ground first, its massive bulk shuddering with the impact. I landed beside it, rolling to try to disperse some of the force. I hit hard on my left side. I felt something crack inside me. White hot agony speared through my chest. The iron tang of blood filled my mouth. My vision blurred as the pain in my torso intensified. It took a moment for me to realize I had stopped rolling. I spat a chunk of phlegm striped with red onto the dirt. Clutching at my side, I staggered to my feet. Each haggard breath sent a new wave of pain coursing through me. I heard a growl behind me. The Cerulean rippled as it righted itself. One arm was twisted the entirely the wrong way around and part of its head had been flattened by the impact. Its shoulder popped and jerked as it returned to its proper position. Its eye locked onto me and narrowed. I reached for my weapon and my hand closed on empty air. My rifle's sling must have come loose during the fall. The Cerulean reared up to its full height and glared down at me.

"Ah shit." I breathed. The Cerulean lunged forward and I threw myself backwards. A fresh wave of agony burned its way across my body. The Cerulean's paw came crashing down where I had been standing. I landed hard and tears clouded my vision. I pulled myself into a sitting position as best as I could, my back pressed against a slab of rock. Clawing at my vest, I was able to rip my pistol from its holster. My mouth tasted of blood again and I spat onto the dirt.

Almost as if sensing victory was close, the Cerulean approached slowly. I raised the pistol in one hand, the other holding onto my left side. I fired three shots at the advancing Cerulean. It did not flinch as the bullets sunk harmlessly into its chest. Its tentacles seemed to curl in anticipation. It towered over me, staring down with its single eye. I forced my hand to stop shaking and fired once more. The bullet ripped a chunk from the Cerulean's eye and it recoiled. It snarled and raised its arm again. The corners of my mouth twisted upwards in a smile as the massive limb came crashing down toward me.

A glowing bear's paw stopped it halfway.

The Cerulean howled as the strike tore a deep wound across its torso, ripping into its flesh. It staggered backwards. Brown Bear landed heavily, but on her feet. The ground cracked beneath her from the impact.

"You. You came to help me." My words came out as a ragged breath as I stared up at her. "After everything I said. Everything I did."

Bear twirled her staff in her hands and held it at the ready. "I'm not like you, Human." Her eyes never left the Cerulean as she spoke. "I've seen too many people get hurt to stand by and do nothing."

Rocks clattered down from above. I glanced up just in time to see Serval and Wild Dog leap from where they clung to the cliff face. They landed gracefully on either side of Bear. Their eyes and claws blazed with incandescent light.

"You okay, old man?" Wild Dog shot me a look over her shoulder.

"Old… man?" I replied and a grin spread across Wild Dog's face.

"Wow, that was a long fall." Serval looked up at the valley walls and she smiled. "It's gonna be fun climbing back up!"

The Cerulean had recovered from Bear's entrance, its torn flesh melding together. It snarled at us, but the sight of three new opponents seemed to give it pause. It snorted at us but did not move. I struggled to my feet, gritting my teeth against the pain inside me.

"Bear." I said. One of the ears on the top of her head swiveled toward me, but she gave me no other indication she had heard me. "So what's the plan?"

Bear didn't respond at first, but for just a moment I saw a smile flicker across her face. "We need to expose the stone on its back." She said after a moment.

"It's really top heavy…" Wild Dog noted as the Cerulean snarled and took a single heavy step toward us.

"That's it!" Bear tightened her grip on her staff. "Human, draw its attention for just a moment. Then while its distracted, Serval, Dog, both of you hit it with everything you have. Aim for the back of its knees. When I get a clear shot at its stone, I'll end this." She shot me a sideways glance. "Got it?"

"Roger that." I said.

"Sounds good!" Wild Dog grinned, but her wide eyes betrayed her feelings of unease.

"Let's do this!" A mischievous smile spread across Serval's face.

"On three." Bear's staff began glowing once more. "One. Two."

I took a deep breath and my ribs screamed in protest. The Cerulean roared.

"Three!"

I surged to my left and it felt like a red hot poker stabbed through my chest. I fired three shots from my pistol at the Cerulean. The bullets went wide. Two struck its shoulder and one missed completely, but it turned to follow me and that was what I wanted. When I had gone left, Wild Dog and Serval went right. They charged in together. Their glowing claws slashed across the back of the Cerulean's knees. It shrieked and fell forward. It landed hard on it hands and knees. I felt the ground shutter beneath my feet. I saw something gleam from the Cerulean's back, right between its shoulder blades. Bear used her staff to launch herself into the air. The Cerulean started to rise once more. Bear's glowing staff came down onto the stone and it roared. The Cerulean's eye locked onto me. For just a brief instant I saw there nothing but a visage of burning rage. A chill shuttered through my body that had nothing to do with temperature. Looking into its eye, the Cerulean's anger felt very personal. It's eye shattered into dozens of gelatinous cubes and the rest of its body followed a moment later. Relief flooded through me and I sagged against the valley wall.

"Amazing!" Serval shouted as she pulled Wild Dog in for a hug. "We did it!"

I noticed something gleaming in the rocks by my feet. It was the hook that had attached my rifle's sling to my body, broken and shattered. The sling itself was still attached and I found the rifle itself not far away. The weapon's scope had become dislodged upon impact and shattered glass lay scattered around it. The rifle itself however was still in one piece and I lifted it carefully. The familiar weight and feel of the grip in my hand was somehow comforting. I staggered my way over to where the Friends had gathered.

"Nice..nice job." I said to Bear.

She blinked in surprise at my words. However, after a moment her expression softened a little and she nodded in response. At our feet, the cubes began to dissolve and congeal.

"That was kinda fun." Serval said, smiling. "Not as scary as the last one."

"Yeah." Wild Dog agreed and shot a glance at Bear. "Not as scary with friends beside you." Her face flushed.

Bear looked up toward the cliff wall looming above us. I followed her gaze and was surprised at just how far I had fallen. I gingerly felt along my left side. I sucked in a sharp breath through my teeth as one spot caused searing pain to spike through my chest.

Serval's ears drooped slightly. "Are you hurt?" She stepped toward me, but I held up a hand.

"I'm okay." I lied. My mouth still tasted of blood. I glanced up the cliff again. "But I don't think I'm going to be getting up that any time soon."

Bear grunted. "It would takes us almost another day to go around it." She said.

"Mirai is probably worried about us." Serval added.

"Could we carry you?" Wild Dog's large ears twitched as she asked the question.

I blinked at her. "What?"

"Carry you, old man." She said with a smile. "We can climb it pretty easily and you're not that heavy looking."

I stared at her. I easily weighed more than twice what she did. Probably closer to three times with all of my gear. However I thought about how easily Serval had lifted the refrigerator before and I shrugged. The motion nearly caused me to double over.

"Are you going to be able to hold on while we climb?" Bear crossed her arms over her chest. My pale face must have answered for me. "No, you won't."

"We could hold on to his vest thing." Serval said and pointed at my armor.

"That could work." Wild Dog leaned in close to me and peered at my gear. "We could hold onto this part." She pointed at the handle that rested just behind my head. It was meant to be used to the carry the armor when not being worn.

"Let's do it then." Bear said finally.

"Wait a sec, I don-" My protests were silenced as the Friends grabbed hold of my armor. A few moments later, Wild Dog and Bear each held onto the handle with one hand while they used the other to climb. Serval carried my rifle. I made sure the safety was on and the chamber was empty, and she also had my pack on her back. She looked very proud of herself.

Since the Friends only had one hand free to grab handholds, we moved in a series of leaps upward. Each and every motion caused pain to radiate throughout my body. My chest felt like a fire was burning inside me and every leap more fuel was added. I bit down on the inside of my cheek to contain the scream that began building inside me. My vision started to darken. I did not realize we had reached the top until I felt the solid ground pressing against my cheek. Dimly, I heard a voice and then I had been rolled over. It felt like a long moment before the pain had faded enough for me to sit up. I saw Mirai kneeling beside me and I blinked at her. Then the bile rose in my throat and I vomited a mess of phlegm and blood into the rocks. My breath came in ragged gasps and I felt a cold sweat run down my forehead.

"Soldier, what happened to you?" Mirai forced me to look at her and it took a moment before I could focus on her. "Where are you hurt? How bad is it?" Behind her, Serval and Wild Dog watched with wide eyes. Bear's expression was more neutral, her arms crossed over her chest.

"I… I can still do my duty." I said to Mirai. I used a nearby rock to pull myself to my feet. My legs were a little shaky, but they held.

"That's was not my question!" Mirai reached out toward me, but I pushed her hand away.

"I'm fine." I said, red spittle flying from my lips. "I've had worse…" Before I had finished the sentence, the earth was rushing up to meet me. The welcomed embrace of unconsciousness engulfed me before I had made it to the ground.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10:

I felt as if I was falling. Twisting and tumbling through a black mist. I tried to find anything I could onto, but my flailing hands closed on nothing but air.

And then I felt the pain. Burning, searing agony rippled out from within my chest. Each racking breath sent a new wave shuddering through me. Each wave came faster than the last. I screamed into the dark void around me.

Then I opened my eyes.

My scream caught in my throat as I stared up at Mirai. She looked down at me with wide eyes. Part of my mind realized my head was in her lap, but most of it was preoccupied with the fire still burning inside my chest. My entire body jerked as another wave of pain surged through me. My fingers carved gouges into the earth as I sucked in a breath through clenched teeth. Dried blood on my lips cracked as I blinked hard, trying to clear the tears welling there.

"Soldier!" Mirai's voice pierced through the cloud of pain. "Knight!" My eyes focused and her face became clear. "Tell us how to help you." She said. "How do we fix you?"

"Bag." I said through gritted teeth. My throat felt dry and my voice sounded hoarse. "Injector. Blue top."

I heard a zipper open and a few moments of shuffling through my pack. I just stared up at the sky as another wave of pain shuddered through me.

"This one?" Mirai held the injector in front of my face. It resembled a thick pen, brightly colored warning labels along its side. One end was capped with a blue top. I grabbed the injector out of her hands and jammed it into my thigh. I dimly felt the prick of the injectors needle and then a burning sting as the drug found its way into my veins. I closed my eyes and waited for the medication to take effect. The tingling sensation spread upward through my limbs until it reached my head. It felt as though ice water was dumped directly into my brain. It seemed like hours, be in reality it was only a few minutes. Slowly the burning fire inside me began to fade into the background. I opened my eyes and blinked up at Mirai. Serval was peering down at me over her shoulder.

I sat up and felt only a minor pang within my chest as I did so. Wild Dog and Brown Bear watched as I stood. I felt the fire inside me flare up, but it was dulled. I pushed it to the back of my mind and took a long, steadying breath. When the fire had died down to a smoldering ember, I turned to see the confused faces of the Friends and Mirai.

"Let's go." I said, my voice still hoarse. I saw my rifle had been carefully propped up against a rock. I reached down and lifted it, checking the chamber. I hefted the now familiar weight and rested it in the crook of my arm.

"No, no no no." Mirai put a hand on my shoulder. "You need to rest! You're hurt. What was in that injector?" She scooped up the spent injector from where I had dropped it and began scanning the labeling.

"An experimental medication." I told her. "It'll let me ignore the pain for a while. I still have a job to finish."

She looked up at me, eyes wide. "This is going to damage your heart…." She said, the empty injector falling from her fingers.

I looked away from her. "I have three days to get a detox."

"Or…?" Mirai took a step toward me.

"Or it kills me."

"You… idiot." Mirai hissed. She reached out and grabbed hold of my shoulder. "We could have taken you to get help! You didn't have to do this!"

"And what if another Cerulean attacks?!" I pulled out of her grip. "I'd just be dead weight! I'm not letting that happen. Not when we're so close." I glanced upward at the volcano looming over us.

"But you're still hurt. Internally. We need to get you to a doctor." The concern in Mirai's voice sent a pang of guilt through me.

"Internal injuries either kill you really quickly, or really slowly." I told her. "The fact that I woke up means we have time." I could tell from her face she wasn't satisfied with that answer.

"But-"

"What's done is done, Mirai!" I cut her off. "Arguing with me isn't going to change that. We're just wasting time."

She glowered at me, but said nothing.

"Let's go." I said again. I started up the path toward the summit of the volcano. The Friends had been watching our exchange silently and now I felt their eyes on my back as I climbed. The ember smoldered within my chest, but I did my best to ignore it. It wasn't long before Serval came up beside me.

"You-" She started.

"Don't." I said. Her ears drooped and I wished my tone hadn't been so harsh.

"You don't have to do everything by yourself, you know." She said.

I didn't reply and we walked in silence for a long moment. Bear and Wild Dog came up to walk on my left while Serval and Mirai stuck close to my right side. I saw each shoot glances at me out of the corner of their eyes. I decided to pretend to not notice.

The cool breeze that blew across the side of the volcano shifted direction then and Wild Dog jerked in surprise. She covered her nose with her hands.

"What is it?" Mirai asked her.

"Something dead." Wild Dog replied, her voice muffled by her hands. Bear and Serval wrinkled their noses a moment later.

"How far is it?" I asked Wild Dog.

"I'm not sure exactly, but its not far. Just over the next ridge I think." She shot me a worried glance. "It smells like the other body we found."

I felt an icy pit inside my stomach as I thought back to Jackson's corpse. Was I about to see the body of another member of my team? I forced these thoughts out of my head and lifted my rifle to my shoulder. I took point moving forward. Brown Bear kept just on my heels, summoning her staff to her hand. We crested the small ridge in front of us. The corpse was lying on his back, limbs splayed out around him. He wore a camouflaged uniform of green, brown and black, but a different pattern than mine. I swept my rifle across the small ridge looking for movement, but everything was still.

"Clear." I said over my shoulder. Mirai, Serval and Wild Dog climbed up beside us a moment later. They winced when they saw the body. As we approached it, I saw it was in the same condition as Jackson had been. Leathery, dry skin was stretched across a frame that looked as if every last drop of moisture had been drained from it. The face had been frozen in a silent scream. Flies buzzed around the body, one crawling out from inside its mouth. My neck burned in shame at the relief I felt when I saw the insignia of the JSDF on its shoulder. Beside the corpse was a large rifle. The weapon was enormous, the kind normally used to disable tanks. The arrow shaped muzzle brake at the end on of the barrel had a thin coating of carbon. It had been used recently and heavily. It rested on a bipod beneath the barrel. It was positioned to cover the path we had just used to ascend the side of the volcano. The scope was pointed downward, toward the cliffs that dropped off into the ocean far below us. I knelt beside the corpse and Mirai did likewise.

"Is this his name?" I pointed toward a string of Japanese characters that was sewn into his uniform.

Mirai nodded. "It says 'Kobayashi.'"

I looked down at the corpse's face and felt like I should say something. No words came to me at first. I reached out and closed his eyes.

"You… you did your duty soldier." I said after a moment. "Rest now, we'll take it from here." I checked to see if he was wearing dog tags, but was surprised to find only one remaining on the chain around his neck. Someone else had already taken the other tag. I glanced at the rifle beside us.

"Why was he so far inland?" I said aloud, more to myself to anyone else but Mirai answered.

"I don't know, I thought all the military had pulled back." She said. "Did they leave him behind?"

"They wouldn't have left that." I nodded toward the rifle. "We had been briefed that we would be the only unit operating in this section of the island." I said. "But this soldier's unit was here recently. And they were packing some serious firepower." I had a suspicion deep in my gut that something odd was going on. I shook my head to clear it. These questions would have to wait. I had other concerns at the moment.

"How much farther is the control station?" I asked Mirai.

She glanced upward at the volcano. "Not much further at all. We should be able to see it soon."

"Good." I said and turned away from the body. I started back up the path. The others followed a moment later, but I saw Serval shoot a look back at the corpse. She shivered.

We did not have to travel much further up the rocky expanse. Soon after we had left the corpse behind that a small doorway came into view, just as Mirai had said. The door appeared to be solid metal, set deep into the side of the rock face. Long shadows covered the entranceway, if we hadn't been looking for it I might have walked right past it. As we approached, I saw the door was slightly ajar. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck rise and I lifted my rifle to my shoulder. Alarms were going off inside my head as I approached the doorway. Something was wrong, but I couldn't tell what. The air felt increasingly heavier, as if the humidity was skyrocketing. I had reached the threshold when I felt a hand on my arm. I turned to see Brown Bear, her expression grim.

"Human." She said, "I smell blood in there."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11:**

The door creaked and scraped along the floor as Bear and I shoved it open. Sunlight poured into the room, revealing a row of blank computer consoles along the far wall. Two of the monitors had cracks running across their surface. One stool had been overturned, resting on the metal grate that served as the floor. A corridor led off to our right, but the sunlight did not reach far enough to banish the shadows clinging there. I stepped into the room and paused. Nothing with teeth or claws jumped out at me, like I was expecting. The air inside was thick, heavy, and harder to breathe.

"This way." Bear said, her voice low. She stepped into the darkened corridor, her staff at the ready. She did not pause to see if I was following as she disappeared into the shadows.

I flipped the switch on the flashlight mounted below my rifle's barrel. Nothing happened. I smacked the device once along its side and the light flickered to life. The corridor led me to the remains of a doorway. Wood splinters covered the floor within and shards of the door itself still clung to the hinges. Inside the room the air somehow grew thicker still. It felt as if it was almost resisting my movements. More computer stations dominated the large desk in the center of the room. These ones were larger than the ones in the previous room, several monitors to each computer tower. On the far wall was a huge screen, but it was currently dark.

Brown Bear stood beside the desk, gazing down at the papers scattered across its surface. She held her staff lightly with one hand, her shoulders relaxed. I felt some of the tension leave my own shoulders when I saw her posture.

"Did you find anything?!" Serval's voice echoed down from the corridor, making the two of us jump.

"There's no one here." Bear called back to her. "But there was." She added quietly. I shot her a look and she pointed her staff at a dried stain on the desk. I had not noticed it at first and in the low light the stain looked black. It covered a corner of the desk and had darkened several sheets of paper. It looked as if it had begun to run down the side of the desk before it had dried. "Blood." Bear told me.

Serval, Mirai, and Wild Dog entered the room, knocking aside the splinters of wood on the ground as they did so. Mirai looked around the room and went straight to the desk. She picked up one of the papers and peered at it. Her eyes lit up.

"This is Professor Kako's handwriting!" She said, a smile beaming across her face. "She was here!"

I glanced at the bloodstain and felt a knot settle into my stomach.

"Let me get that light!" Mirai beckoned me closer. As I tried to angle the light over her shoulder, the flashlight flickered and died.

"Dammit." I muttered as I smacked the flashlight again. It refused to reignite, despite my fiddling with the switch.

"Um, Ms. Guide?" Serval sounded out of breath, as if she'd just run a mile. "I… I don't feel so good."

"Wha-" Mirai cut off the word with a gasp.

Serval's eyes glowed faintly in the gloom. I shot a glance over my shoulder. I saw two more pairs of glowing eyes as Bear and Wild Dog turned to look at me. The glow was similar to what occurred when the Friends were fighting, but it was duller and more muted. Before, the shifting colors had tended toward greens, purples and blue. Now, sparks of red, orange and yellow drifted within their eyes.

"I feelll sssstrange…" Wild Dog's words slurred together. She blinked at Brown Bear and tilted her head to the side as she gazed at the other Friend.

"What's happening to them?" I asked Mirai.

"I don't...wait." Mirai must have stepped backward in the dark and bumped into me. "We're inside the volcano right now. The air in here is saturated in Sandstar. It must be affecting them somehow." I felt her shift as she reached out toward the Friends. "Serval, listen to me. Why don't you three go outside and keep watch okay? Just yell if you see anything suspicious."

"Okaaaaay." Serval said the word slowly. "What about you?"

"Mr. Soldier and I are going to take a look around in here, then we'll come out with you."

Serval just looked at her for a long moment. Then she turned and grabbed the hands of Brown Bear and Wild Dog. She pulled the two of them out of the room with her. I listened until I heard a distant creak as they passed by the door that led outdoors.

"Are they going to be okay?" I asked after a moment.

"They should be once they're outside." Mirai replied. "Do you even care if they are or not?" Her tone was biting and her words stung more than I would like to admit. I detached the flashlight from its mount on my rifle and gave it a solid smack. The light flickered to life once again and I held it out to Mirai. She took it without a word.

In the silence that followed, Mirai gathered every paper she could see on the desk into a single pile. She hesitated for a moment when she picked up the bloodstained pages. She stared at the dark blotches for a long moment before adding the paper to the pile.

"Why did you come back?" She asked, her voice sounding especially loud in the quiet room.

"What?" I asked, caught off guard.

"When Serval was in trouble." Mirai turned to face me, the flashlight resting on the table behind her. It threw dark shadows across her face and outlined her body in light. "You said to Bear that you didn't care about their lives." She continued. "But you came back to help them. Why?"

It was a long moment before I found the words to reply to her. "I have been doing this job for a long time." I said. " I have done some terrible things. It has taken a lot from me. Friends, family, a lot of sleep." The shadows prevented me from seeing Mirai's face, but I could feel her gaze as I spoke. "I realized that even if they had once been just animals, those… those kids were doing a far better job at being a decent human being than I have been in a long time." I swallowed past the lump in my throat. "I decided that I was not going to let this job take away the last bit of humanity left in me."

"That's all they are, you know." Mirai's voice was so low I almost didn't hear her. "Kids. They're just kids. When you fell down that cliff, not a single one of them hesitated for a second to jump down after you. Not even Bear. They shouldn't be doing this. They shouldn't have to be fighting like this. They should be laughing and playing, not fearing for their lives!" Her voice cracked on the last word and I realized with a start that her shoulders were heaving. She was crying. I froze. Part of me wanted to comfort her, but another part hesitated. "I brought them here." Mirai continued. "These are her notes, but Professor Kako isn't here and all of you came here because I asked you too. She's probably dead and I was too stupid to see that. I put them in danger because I couldn't let myself believe that Kako could be gone." She let out a breath that was more of a sob. "If they get hurt it's because of me. It's all my fault. Soldier!" Her head snapped up and I felt her eyes on me even though I still could not see them. "Promise me something. Promise me that you'll get them out of here. You'll get them somewhere safe. You won't let any of them get hurt. _Please._ "

"I promise." I said, without hesitation.

"You do?" Mirai seemed surprised.

"I swear to you we'll get out of here." I continued. "All of us."

"Thank you." She said and she reached up to wipe at her eyes. She turned and gathered up her pile of papers. "Let's take these outside, so I can go through them with proper lighting." Outside, we found the Friends standing guard. Each one looked like they were about to throw up.

"My tummy hurts." Serval groaned.

"You should be feeling better soon." Mirai told her, patting the Friend on the head. "Come on, help me look through these notes." She sat down on a small rock and started flipping through the papers. Serval peered over her shoulder. I blinked at them, seeing no sign of the emotions Mirai has displayed just a few minutes earlier.

Shrugging internally, I turned to watch for movement on the path we had taken up the mountain. Below us, I could see the small plateau we had found the corpse of the JSDF soldier on. Brown Bear moved to stand beside me. She did not look in my direction and said nothing, but she crossed her arms over her chest. Wild Dog stood on the other side of Bear and she shot me a confused glance. For several minutes, nothing was spoken but a nagging feeling grew within my gut.

"Bear." I said finally. Her only response was to swivel one of her furred ears in my direction. "Those things I said earlier today. I want-"

"Shut up." Bear cut me off and I blinked in surprise. "If you were about to try to apologize to me, save your breath." She said. "Actions speak much louder than words, Human. And your actions have said a lot already. If you want me to believe that you're sorry about anything you've done, prove it to me." She turned on her heel and moved to stand behind Serval and Mirai as they worked on the papers. Wild Dog watched her go and then turned to look at me. Her large round ears swiveled toward me.

"I can hear your heartbeat, you know." She said. I just looked at her, confused. "Sometimes it's kinda scary how calm it is. Even when you're fighting it barely jumps at all. But when you look at us, when you were saying that you don't care about us, it skyrockets." A small smile crossed her lips. "It was like you were lying when you said those words. Serval said you had a kind soul." She glanced over her shoulder at the other Friend. "I believe her." She turned back to look at me. "Just let it show more often, okay? Maybe Bear will believe it then too." She smiled at me then and I felt the aching in my chest intensify.

"I… I'll try." The words came out sounding hoarse.

"Hey!" Mirai called to us. "Come look at this! It says-"

Whatever she was about to tell us was cut off by a burst of static from inside the control station behind her. The Friends winced and covered their ears.

"What is that?!" Serval asked.

I pushed past them into the control station and was quickly able to locate the source of the noise. A small rectangle of solid green metal lay on its side in one corner of the room. A phone handset was attached to the box by a coiled cord. I recognized it immediately. The radio buzzed again as I scooped it up from the floor. Most of the transmission came through as garbled static, but a single English word came through crystal clear. _Fire._ I felt a rush of excitement as I hurried back out of the control station and into the open air.

"What is that?" Mirai asked.

"A radio." I told her and her eyes widened. I lifted the handset to my ear and it crackled in static again. "Any station on the channel, this is Bonesaw 3." I said. "I need immediate assistance, over."

The radio was silent for a moment. Then static crackled again, but I was able to make out a few more words.

"..who...that...a person?…" The radio went silent.

"Dammit." I growled.

"It's the volcano." Mirai said. "It causes interference with radios. Where did that one come from? The staff doesn't use radios in this area."

"It's a military model." I told her. The implications of my words started to dawn on me as the radio buzzed again.

"Whoever...get..cover…..bird...away." The line went dead again.

"What does that mean?" Serval asked, her eyes wide.

"Ms. Guide." Wild Dog was staring at the horizon. "Something is coming." She pointed and a moment later I saw it too. A black dot among the clouds that was steadily growing bigger.

"Is that a plane?" Mirai glanced at me. "Can we signal them?"

"That plane..." I said as its silhouette grew more clear. "That's a bomber." I turned to see each of them staring at me. "Everyone inside the mountain, now!"

We were halfway to the doorway when the first bomb went off.


End file.
